How to Heal a Heart
by le.etoile
Summary: It's been one week since Hueco Mundo, and there is a party at Orihime's house. With the party only ending in bad news, things seem to go downhill even more. Is everything really over for Orihime or will still have to make a decision? Life, or love? DONE!
1. A party at my place?

A/N: Yay, my first Bleach fanfic! I started reading Bleach recently and I'm hooked! I actually had a dream about this, and I thought it'd be fun to write it out. Yay for IchiHime!

Also, sorry if this is weird-ish, this is my first time writing a Bleach fanfic, so it might be a bit OOC?

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Chapter 1

Orihime's POV

_It had been one week since Kurosaki-kun successfully defeated Aizen, with the help of the other captains. He brought me back home, and everyone was happy again. _

_I do not feel happy as well. _

_Every night, I am haunted by nightmares of the Arrancar, Aizen, and even Kurosaki-kun. I pray every night to be able to dream happily, but it unfortunately does not happen. Every morning, I wake up with hot tears running down my cheeks, because the darkness has nuzzled itself deep inside my mind, replaying horrifying images in my head over and over again._

_I don't know whether this newfound tunnel is my glorifying light, or the fiery glow of hell. I pray to my brother to give me guidance in my time of need…_

I heard a knock at my door that interrupted my sorrowful nonsense I had just put into my diary. I looked up from the ratty notebook, with pages all crumpled and messed up. The pages were caked with previously dried tears and other unknown substances.

It seemed like writing could be my only way to vent, logically, meaning, without being full of confusion, like how I normally am. Yes, I even know that I can be weird a lot. Ever since Hueco Mundo, I feel like I've mentally matured, but for the worst. Also, since Hueco Mundo, I haven't been eating and sleeping as well as I normally would. I was always tired, and felt no need to eat. It's common knowledge to eat when you're hungry.

I sighed, closing the journal and stood up. "Coming!" I yelled half-heartedly to the person outside my door.

To my surprise, it was Rangiku-san.

"Hello," She spoke in a singsong voice. She looked at me very closely. "Orihime-chan, you don't look to good. Did you lose weight?" She pointed out. I just laughed, putting on a fake air.

"Hi Rangiku-san! What brings you here?" I forced a smile. She just cracked up a big smile herself and walked right in. I didn't mind though, and I closed the door behind her.

"I have something amazing to tell you!" She walked in, her bag on her side bouncing along with her. "There's going to be a party!" She shook off the snow on her shoulders and kicked off her shoes. She then proceeded to sit down at the small table in the next room.

"A party?" I blinked, confused as to what Rangiku-san had just brought up. She nodded, smiling in the process, as a response. "What for?" I started preparing some tea for the two of us in the nearby kitchen.

"Yup. It's been almost a week since we got back from Hueco Mundo and since Ichigo successfully defeated Aizen and saved you, I think a celebration is in order." I finished making the tea and put in on the table in front of her. She picked up the teacup and took a sip. "So the party will be tonight."

"Tonight? Who's invited, and where's it at?" I asked her, pouring myself a cup as well.

"Yes, tonight. Most of the captains, vice-captains, and you and your friends." She laughed awkwardly, and took another sip, "It'll also be here, at your apartment.

"M-my place?! I don't mind, but I don't have anything prepared!!" I ranted very worriedly. She patted my back reassuringly.

"Don't worry, don't worry. Everyone is bringing something along." She pointed fiercely at herself; "I'm bringing some alcohol!" She smiled proudly.

"B-but Rangiku-san…" She leaned over the table and put her finger on my lips. My face heated up a bit from her being so close.

"Don't worry about a thing, Orihime-chan. We've got this all figured out." She winked. 'We?' I thought, 'Who's we?'

She continued, "I also didn't think you'd mind that it was here, but sorry for the assumption anyway." She finished the last of her tea, and pushed the cup towards me. "More please," She spoke happily.

"Ah… T-thank you, Rangiku-san…" I paused, trying to think about what to talk about now. "So how many people do you think will come?" I looked around my apartment, "You also know it isn't very big here, would it be able to hold enough people?"

"Like I said, your friends, so you should know how many right there." She paused to count on her fingers. "And I guess maybe another 10 to 15 people?" She laughed. "I'm sure we can squish everyone in."

'Most of my friends… So does that mean Kurosaki-kun will be there?' I felt my face heat up a bit. I heard a giggle from Rangiku-san.

"Yes, Ichigo will be there, why wouldn't he?" She took another sip. "Wouldn't the party kind of be for him, since he did most of the work?" I twirled my fingers around on the table, still feeling the hotness on my face.

"I suppose…" I paused, "Um, Rangiku-san… I've been thinking about a lot of stuff recently…" My face was still hot, and my thoughts were still buzzing around in my head, but my mood suddenly went down. "Especially on a certain thing."

"Hm? What's wrong, sweetie?" Her smile from her face went away after she saw that my smile had disappeared. I saw my sad reflection in my tea.

"I just want to tell someone, because it hurts too much to keep it bottled up inside. Plus I think someone should know, more so if he'll be here tonight." I took a deep, heavy breath.

"I… L-love Kurosaki-kun, but I don't think he will ever feel the same…" I barely managed to choke out the words I never wanted to say in the first place. "So I've decided to give up on him…" I smiled weakly. "I suppose I should be saying, 'I loved Kurosaki-kun,' right?" I laughed half-heartedly.

"Orihime-chan…" She gasped lightly, saying my name very quietly. It was almost inaudible.

"For one, I-I think he likes Kuchiki-san…" I mumbled, trying to force down that lump in my throat. My fingers were fidgeting madly. I couldn't afford to be weak anymore, so that meant no more crying. It didn't work to well, as my eyelashes were started to get slightly wet. I kept my head down. "I can understand why though…" I sniffed, still trying to smile. "She's a great person. She's pretty, and smart, and can always cheer up Kurosaki-kun."

"You think he likes her?" Her voice sounded confident and loud. "So you have no proof that he does?" I looked up at her with tears clouding up my vision. She had a point, but I still had my reasons for telling her this.

"I-I don't understand how he could like someone like me…" I wiped my eyes and laughed half-heartedly. "Back in Hueco Mundo, he fought so much… He almost died so many times… And he went into his hollow form so much." I bit my lip. "And it was all for me…"

"Orihime…" Rangiku-san murmured again.

I sobbed, but tried to keep that fake smile on my face. "All because I'm incompetent, I made him become what he hates the most." I laughed, hot tears now falling freely down my face. I was weak again. No, I've always been weak. I disgusted myself. I couldn't even do a simple thing like not cry. I guess all I'm good for is crying, I laughed bitterly on the inside.

Rangiku-san inched over to me, and put an arm around my shoulder.

"You are not worthless." She poked at my side, making it feel ticklish a bit. I grabbed onto the side she just poked, as if it was my only lifeline. "You are worth so much." She took a sip of her tea using her other hand before continuing.

"Remember that time I stayed over here for a bit, before the Winter War?" I nodded, starting to taste blood from biting my lip too hard. It was an interesting taste, weirdly enough, but the pain from it kept me sort of distracted from my stupid thinking.

"And what did I say to you, that evening?" She squeeze-hugged me a bit.

"You said that Kuchiki-san had an important place in Kurosaki-kun's life…" I mumbled, forcing that lump in my throat to go away again.

"No, you baka." She flicked my forehead. "After that." I rubbed at my head, the place she hit. Another pain that kept me even more distracted.

"That I was also an important part in Kurosaki-kun's life…" I spoke quietly.

"Right." She patted my head. "You mean a lot to him, so you shouldn't give up."

"But Rangiku-san. It was all because of me that he became a hollow. Just to protect me." I pouted at her, trying to feign a new mood. "If he goes into his hollow form, I don't want be the cause of it." She just smirked lightly. I know she's not one to give up suddenly, so her smile only meant she either had something planned, or already knew something important. I brushed the feeling off for the time being.

"Fine, fine… It ultimately your decision." She hugged me tightly, causing me to not be able to breathe, temporarily. "Just don't give up ALL hope just yet. Please."

"Rangiku-san… I can't breathe." I was still hugging me closely. Another knock at the door separated us. She let go of me and smiled. I stood up hastily, trying to regain my breath. "Coming!" I made my way to the door, and heard Rangiku-san slurping her tea in the background.

I opened the door to find Tatsuki-chan. She brought a smile to my face. I couldn't tell if it was a fake one or a real one though.

"Orihime!" She grinned. "I'm here to help!" She held up a bag of items. They appeared to be decorations.

"Help? For what?" I poked my head into the bag, to see if my suspicions were correct.

"The party!" She gave the bag to me, and grabbed 3 more that were sitting behind her. "Some incredibly busty lady showed up at my house earlier, telling me there would be a party here, and knowing you, you're going to need help setting this up." She stepped in casually and shook off the excess snow she had resting upon her shoulders and head. I closed the door behind her, feeling a bit of cold, winter wind wash over me.

"Ah, Rangiku-san?" I questioned.

"Is that her name?" She set the bags on the floor and took off her shoes. As one would say, 'Speak of the devil.' Rangiku-san waltzed over to my side, and introduced herself.

"Hello, my name is Rangiku Matsumoto. Nice to meet you. Please call me Rangiku." She bowed politely.

"Ah, my name is Tatsuki Arisawa. Nice to meet you too." Tatsuki-chan bowed as well. "And you can call me Tatsuki." Rangiku-san smiled a bit.

After that, we were all awkwardly standing in my foyer. That is, until I felt something on my back.

I jumped slightly, causing Tatsuki-chan to raise her eyebrows. It was Rangiku's finger, and she was drawing the characters for "Gigai" on my back. I already knew she was in one at the current moment, otherwise Tatsuki-chan wouldn't be able to see her. Also did this mean that she would be in her gigai all evening or that everyone would be in gigais tonight? I mentally noted myself to ask her that later.

"So… Tatsuki-chan, you said you were here to help?" I asked her awkwardly, trying to break the odd tension. She nodded, bringing the bags to the table in the other room.

"I brought cups, streamers, confetti, and a big roll of paper we can use to write stuff on later." She smiled, pulling all the stuff out of the bags and set them on the floor. "Ah, that reminds me." She suddenly stopped. She reached into her back pocket and dug out her cell phone. "I need to make a quick phone call. You two can dig in and see what else I brought." Tatsuki-chan smirked, twirling her phone around by her phone charm. We both nodded and proceeded to dig into the bags as Tatsuki-chan left the room.

Ichigo's POV

"I'm telling you, there are hot new women working at the bakery!" Kon exclaimed happily, repeating what he had said about 5 minutes ago. "Ooooh, how glorious would it be to be able to see them working with only aprons on…" He trailed off, his nose starting to bleed a bit… Can stuffed animals even get bloody noses? Either way, I had started to phase him out after a while, so I really hadn't heard most of what he said.

My cell phone started to ring, and I picked it up, looking at the caller ID. It was Tatsuki.

"Oi, shut up Kon, I'm going to answer this…" I smacked the back of his head, causing him to go flying out into the hall. I heard Yuzu talking in the background, "Bostov! I've been looking everywhere for you!! I have a new dress for you!"

"Hey Tatsuki, what's up?" I answered nonchalantly, twirling around the pen around that was currently in my hand.

"Hey, I just wanted to see if you heard about the party at Orihime's tonight." She paused, taking a deep breath before continuing. "If you don't show up, I'll beat you up later." Wow, what a great way to invite someone.

"I had actually heard from Rukia earlier, who heard from someone else, who heard from the actual planner. She didn't say where it was though, just that there was going to be one."

"Rangiku-san?" Tatsuki's voice rang through the phone.

"You know her?"

"I just met her," she huffed. "I'm at Orihime's already, helping set up, and she was already there." She paused again, only there seemed to be a big tension in the air this time. "I think she and Orihime were talking about something quite serious."

I stiffened a bit. "How serious?"

"I don't know, I didn't ask her yet, considering I just got here. But seriously Ichigo, something isn't right with Orihime."

"I'm sure she's fine…" I hesitated to say.  
"Ichigo. She has no emotion in her eyes." Her voice got tenser. "And she's lost weight, I can tell." Inoue lost weight? She always appeared to be average, weight-size, just by looking at her. But then again, considering what's been happening lately, I wasn't all too surprised if she a bit of weight, from all the stress. "A lot." She stressed at the end.

"Oh…" I just managed to say. What was I supposed to say to Tatsuki to make her feel better? "Um, so what time should I be there tonight?" I tried to suavely change the subject. It didn't work out too well there; she saw right through me.

"6, and you better see her at least once, for yourself. If you don't, I'll beat you. More so if you make her cry."

"Fine, fine…" I mumbled. "Rukia and I will be there at 6 then."

"Rukia?" She sighed heavily. "Fine, and totally expect everything to be all fine and dandy." Her sentence was obviously dripping with sarcasm.

"What?! What do you expect me to do?" I fumed. So far, I'd done nothing wrong.

"So far, I'm expecting you to make Orihime cry." What the hell, how could I make her cry by showing up with Rukia?

"Wait, Tatsuki, how the hell would I make Inoue cr-" I couldn't even finish my sentence as Tatsuki hung up on me. I sighed heavily, putting my face in my hands.

Women can be so damn confusing.

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A/N: Yaaay, chapter one is finished! Woot~ I hope you enjoyed it! If not, then my apologies?


	2. Strawberry lips

A/N: Chapter two, yay-ness. I hope you like it. Also, I love reviews, so please send me your thoughts on the story, whether they be good, or bad!

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_Chapter 2_

_ Orihime's POV_

About 10 minutes later, Tatsuki-chan had come back into the room. Rangiku-san and I had made a mess and we put everything on the floor; everything had been spread out all over the place. Glancing up at Tatsuki-chan, she looked quite frustrated.

"Tatsuki-chan, are you alright?" She tiptoed her way through the mess, sighing heavily.

"I'm fine. I just hate idiots, is all," she spoke tensely. Rangiku-san and I looked at each other, very puzzled. "You two made a hell of a mess in here…" She mumbled, picking up some of the decorations off the floor.

"Care to talk about it?" Rangiku-san tried to sound helpful. Tatsuki-chan just started at Rangiku-san for a few moments, creating a huge tension in the air.

"Ah, gotcha." '_Got what? They hadn't said a thing? Or maybe I just missed something?'_

"Did Tatsuki-chan say anything?" I tried to ask politely. Tatsuki-chan put a smile on her face and shoved some streamers at me.

"Nope," she stated simply. "You can start hanging these." She also passed some tape to me too.

"O-okay." I stood up hesitantly, for fear that the streamers and tape would go flying if I got up too fast. Rangiku-san stood up quickly, smiling happily.

"Before Orihime-chan gets to her streamer duty, I have something to give her."

"Huh?" I dropped all the streamers and tape onto the ground again. "Orihime!" Tatsuki-chan exclaimed. '_Ah, whoops. I didn't mean to drop them in the first place, but I did in the end anyway. Could I be any more useless?'_

Rangiku-san dug though the decorations and pulled out a cute dress from underneath the rubble. She held it high and proud.

"Isn't it cute?" She smiled, skipping over to my side, making sure to avoid Tatsuki-chan who was currently picking up my dropped streamers. Rangiku-san held the dress up to me. "It's a minidress!" She exclaimed.

"M-m-minidress?" I blushed furiously. "Why not just a regular dress? Why does it have to be mini?" Tatsuki-chan stood back up after picking up the streamers.  
"It actually doesn't look too bad. It matches your skin tone quite well." I slowly took it away from Rangiku-san and held it up against my body.

The color was dark purple. The top of the dress had a wide, but low neckline, and it was made of a satiny material. Everything below that was made out of cotton and they were hanging a lot looser than the top. I guess I had to cheer for the small victories. Plus, at least some of it was made of cotton too, so it would be somewhat comfortable... She also could have picked out a smaller, skimpier dress. I blushed at the thought of what else she could have gotten.

"B-but won't it be too tight for me, um…" I mumbled, looking off to the side, "You know… Up top?" They both stared at me for a moment then burst out laughing.

"Orihime-chan, if you've got something, flaunt it." She grabbed my side and started tickling me.

"Ah, Rangiku-san! Ahahahahaha, S-stop it please! Hahaha!!" I tried to speak through my continuous laughing.

Tatsuki-chan, still amusing by my comment, started to speak, "Orihime, let's get these streamers up." She grinned, now facing Rangiku-san. "Rangiku-san, please put those cups and plates in the kitchen." She nodded, grabbing the stuff fervently. Tatsuki-chan and I went to the nearest wall, and started to tape up the streamers.

"Hey Orihime…" She spoke softly, the previous amusement vanished from her tone. "We're friends, right?" She stretched to tape up a section of streamer.

"What? Of course we are!" I pouted at her. How could she even think such a thought? "What makes you ask such a thing?" Tatsuki-chan moved over to my other side, taking along the decorations with her.

"I just feel that you're hiding something from me…" She stated in monotone, not looking at me at all. We both heard Rangiku-san humming to herself in the kitchen.

I did feel my stomach drop when she said that though. I had hidden so much from her. I _was_ planning on telling her about Hueco Mundo and Kurosaki-kun, but I never thought I was in the right mindset to do it. Plus, I haven't seen her for a long time… She's just been calling me this week, no actual visits.

"I'm sorry Tatsuki-chan…" I whispered. My eyes started to hurt. I didn't start crying again, because it seemed like I had run out of tears. "I've just been thinking about a lot." She suddenly turned to me with eyes full of hurt as well.

"Can't you share some of your pain with me though? I thought that's what friends are for!" I shuddered. Could she really tell that I've been in anguish? The last thing I'd want to do to Tatsuki-chan is burden her with my heavy feelings. They were already sinking me lower and lower myself.

She turned back to the wall, moving down again to tape up more streamers. "I can tell Orihime. When I first saw you after opening the door, I knew something was wrong." She paused, biting her lip. I stretched to put up another row of streamers along her. "You've lost a lot of weight, you're pale, and you look really tired. Plus your eyes have no real emotion… I can't tell what you're thinking anymore." She paused. "Please just tell me what's wrong…" I dropped all my things and flung myself towards Tatsuki-chan, embracing her tightly.

"I'm sorry to make you worry Tatsuki-chan…" I forced the lump in my throat to go back down, trying to speak without sounding weird. "I promise I'll tell you everything, but there's not enough time right now to tell it all." She put her hands on my back, returning the hug.

"You promise?" She asked, forcing a light laugh. I just nodded into her shoulder.

"There's one thing I want to tell you right now though." She pulled away gently from the hug. "Because I think it's important that you know…"

"What is it?" She asked me casually. I rubbed at my sore eyes, and put on a fake smile.

"I've decided to give up on Kurosaki-kun." I put my hair behind my ears, still trying to smile in the process. She didn't say anything at first, she just stared at me.

"Due to recent events," I continued, "I have been a huge burden on Kurosaki-kun. I can't bear to see him so hurt, all because of me…" I paused. She touched my shoulder lightly. "There's more to it, but like I said… I'll explain later."

"Orihime…" She whispered.

"So I've decided to let him go and be happy by doing things _he_ wants to do." I turned back to the wall, grabbing the dropped streamers and tape off the floor, that I had previously dropped again.

"Orihime…" Tatsuki-chan started, helping me pick up the items. "What if he's happy being with you? If what he wants to do is be with you, then shouldn't you keep loving him?" At that moment, Rangiku-san came back into the room.

"Sorry to disrupt your conversation, but what should I do next?" She smiled gleefully. I didn't look at both of them directly, but Tatsuki-chan appeared to give Rangiku-san an awkward smile.

"Thanks…" Was all Tatsuki-chan said. The two went off to the other side of the room, digging around on the floor. All I could do was smile weakly and both of them.

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_At the same time, off at the Kurosaki Clinic (Ichigo's POV)_

"What the hell do I wear to a party? Casual, or formal?" I muttered to myself. Kon had found a way to get back to my room, and was already ranting about women again. And the party as well. I had made the decision that he shouldn't go, for very obvious reasons.

"Why can't I go to the party too?!" He yelled, obviously very upset with the decision of him not going. "I want to see what Orihime-neesan will be wearing." He started to have a nosebleed again. This is exactly why I told him that he couldn't go. "What if she wasn't wearing anything at all?" He mumbled off and started to daydream. I felt my face heat up a bit at what Kon said. I'm not, and I try not to be, a perverted person, but Inoue was really a beautiful person… _Her silky hair, soft skin, luscious curves…_

I slapped my face to keep myself from thinking even worse thoughts.

_**Oi, come on King. You know you want to touch that 'soft skin' of hers, stroke her 'silky hair', and feel up her 'luscious curves'. **_My inner hollow cackled to himself.

_I refuse to think about Inoue that way. And you'd better not talk about her badly, otherwise I'll-_

_**Otherwise you'll do what? I'm part of you; what can you do? Beat yourself up? Just face it King, you have the hots for her. You want her real bad.**_ He laughed bitterly. _**And you can't do a damn thing about me.**_

_No, Inoue is a precious friend. I'm not going to think bad things about her, especially that way. _My face felt even hotter now. _And I'll find a way to suppress you entirely, eventually. Even if it kills me._

_**Sure, sure… Go ahead and keep thinking that way now, I'll be back later when you're having a good moment with her. Then I'll take your body over.**_

_Like hell you will… _He didn't say anything back. I sighed heavily, running a hand through my hair. Someone started to knock at the door.

"Come in!" I yelled, sounding stressed. It was Rukia.

"Hey, Yuzu-chan said that lunch is ready and that you should go downstairs to get it." She paused, turning her head slightly. "Why is your face so red?"

"Shut up, it's not red!!" I yelled at her, embarrassed of my current facial expression.

"Right… And I hate Chappy to the extreme," she replied sarcastically. "What's gotten into you?" She snorted, obviously curious in my 'red face' and rude remarks. When did I not have rude remarks?

"Nothing…" She raised an eyebrow. I continued, trying to change the subject. "Anyway, there's a party at Inoue's tonight. Tatsuki just called me a while ago to let me know about it. I told her we'd both be there around 6ish." Rukia just put her hands on her hips.

"Didn't Rangiku-san tell you about it?" Did Rukia already know? Damn, this was frustrating.

"No, she didn't," I stressed my 'no' seriously to her. I mean, how much was I out of the loop? This is really starting to piss me off…

"It's been planned for a few days now. I'm surprised you didn't know."

"And why didn't you tell me?!" I fumed at her.

"Didn't care all that much…" She spoke in monotone. She turned around to leave. "Plus I thought you already knew."

"Oh great. Thanks Rukia." She put on a fake smile.

"No problem, Ichigo," she tried to act sweet, leaving my room to go back downstairs. "Don't forget lunch!"

"Yeah, yeah…" I mumbled to myself. I stood up from my chair and opened my closet. Since Rukia now had to stay in Yuzu and Karin's room, I actually was able to put clothes in my closet.

After staring at it for about 20 minutes, I ultimately decided on just a button up long-sleeved shirt and khaki pants. If someone is going to have a problem with how I dress, I'm not going to be happy.

"Ichi-nii! Lunch time!!" Yuzu yelled out from downstairs.

"I got it, I got it. I'll be down in a moment!" I yelled back down. I folded up my clothes and put them on my bed. There they waited until Inoue's party…

* * *

_Orihime's POV (Party time! = Around 6:00 PM that same day)_

"Um… Are you sure this looks okay?" I mumbled to Tatsuki-chan and Rangiku-san. My face was hot, most of it being from embarrassment. Tatsuki-chan just smiled at me.

"You look stunning! You'll knock them dead!" She gave me the thumbs up.

"K-knock who dead!?" I stuttered. I didn't want anyone dead! Rangiku-san laughed loudly, presumably at me.

"It's a phrase Orihime-chan. It means you'll get a lot of attention." She explained. But me? Get a lot of attention? With what I was wearing, I'm not sure it would be very good attention, if anything… They had also curled my hair a bit and put it up into a loose bun. Rangiku-san said something about having a bare neck is seductive, but I wasn't quite sure what she was talking about. Also, she told me something important about the lip-gloss, but I couldn't remember… It was probably a remark similar to the one about my hair…

The lip gloss… I could smell it on my lips.

The flavor was strawberry… Every time I smelled it or thought about it, my face felt hot… Even though I'd already decided to forget…

Rangiku-san and Tatsuki-chan both looked very cute with their dresses one. Rangiku-san had a, erm, very small, white mini dress on, and Tatsuki-chan just had one of her simple, but slightly elegant sundresses on. They both looked gorgeous.

We had been able to finish decorating and both making and buying some food for the party. I wasn't able to make anything though. They both kept me out of the kitchen, for they both feared that I would make some weird food. I found it insulting. I don't make weird food, for it all tastes delicious!

"Tatsuki-san, why aren't you wearing the dress I brought along for you? I thought it was cute in the shop window, and thought there had to be some girl that could wear it." Rangiku-san pouted, sitting down on the couch she had transported from Soul Society… Was that even allowed anyway? Transporting objects just for the use of a party? She also transported her alcohol that way as well, which made me even more worried.

"Rangiku-san, That wasn't even a dress. It was just strings!" Tatsuki-chan fumed at her. I laughed a bit at their argument, for it was actually kind of amusing. For a brief moment, I felt a little bit of weight lifted off my heart. It was back again pretty soon though. I saw Tatsuki-chan smile at me from the corner of my eye. She started to speak again.

"Anyway Orihime. You look great. I was actually worried about how that dress was going to fit, but it works perfectly." She smiled, hugging me. I returned the hug.

"It was so fun to mess around with your face and hair too! I've never had a little sister or anything, so it was fun to try using that stuff." Rangiku-san spoke happily.

"Messing around with her face?" Tatsuki-chan exclaimed again. We heard light knocks coming from the door. We all just looked at each other.

"Who's going to answer it?" Rangiku-san whispered. I to Tatsuki-chan, who was pointing at Rangiku-san, who was pointing at me. Great, a triangle of points.

"Orihime, why me? I was invited here, remember?" Tatsuki-chan spoke normally. "And why are we whispering?" I dropped my hand.

"Haha, right. Sorry." I looked at Rangiku-san. "Why don't you do it?"

"It's your house." She stated simply.

"But you're the one who planned it." Tatsuki-chan spoke as plopped down on the sofa as well. The person outside knocked even louder.

"AH, YES, COMING!!" I yelled to the person, as if it was automatic. Tatsuki-chan just slapped her face, but I didn't know why.

I hurried over to the door and swung it open slowly. It was Uraharah-san and Yoruichi-san. I put on a smile for them. "Welcome, please come in."

"Thank you Orihime-chan." Uraharah-san mumbled and he walked in and Yoruichi-san just did a small vow before entering. She appeared kind of frustrated though.

"Ah, Uraharah, Yoruichi, how are you?" Rangiku-san welcomed them in the other room. "This is…" She trailed off and I couldn't hear her anymore. I was about to close the door when someone else put their foot in the door. It was Abarai-kun.

"Ah, Abarai-kun. Welcome!" I put another smile on my face. Jeez, it was already two smiles and my face was starting to hurt a bit. He looked at me from head to toe a few times. It actually made me feel a bit uncomfortable… He eventually looked at me, with a red face.  
"A-ah, hello." He stuttered. "I brought a watermelon for the party." He stuck his hand out, which was holding a bag with a large watermelon in it.

"Oh, thank you Abarai-kun." I took the bag out of his hands and he entered the house, kicking off his shoes to the side with the others. He followed the noise into the other room, and I tagged along with him, since the only way to the kitchen was the way he was going. Everyone else who was already here had already made themselves comfortable, with the exception of Tatsuki-chan. She looked kind of tense, actually.

I grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the kitchen with me. "W-where are we going?" She demanded.

"You just looked a bit uncomfortable, is all. Don't you want a breather?" I held up the watermelon.

"People haven't even been here more than five minutes, and I'm already tired," she sighed. She still smiled though, and proceeded to pull a knife out of the drawer next to her. We both heard another knock at the door. "Ah, I'll get that, and you can cut up the watermelon, if it's okay?" She just nodded, still smiling.

I hurried back to the door for the 5th time today. "Welcome to the part-" I started to greet the new guest, but stopped in mid sentence.

It was Kurosaki-kun.

And he was standing next to Kuchiki-san.

* * *

A/N: Yay, end of chapter. I hoped you enjoyed this. Hopefully stuff will start to slow down a bit more now. The part I didn't want to write was the whole "pre-party" part, lol. Just because it's hard to stretch a situation like that.

Anyway, PLEASE REVIEW IF YOU LIKED IT!! ^-^


	3. These fake smiles can't continue

A/N: Oh ****, I just watched some of the Arrancar arc part in the anime, and I want to SCREAM because of the IchiHime. **spazzes** I SO want them to end up together in the end. **heart heart heart heart** Anywho, sorry, onto the chapter.

http: / / b-squaredstock. deviantart. com/ art/ Dark –Purple –Mini –Dress - 1006 83454

That's kind of what I wanted her dress to look like (Orihime's dress).

Personally, I didn't like writing this chapter somewhat, just because it reminds me of stuff that's happening in my real life, and it's pissing me off, lol. Whatever, sorry. Here's the next "Chappy". (- Pun.)

_Thoughts/Inner actions are in Italics._

* * *

**Chapter 3**

_**Orihime's POV**_

_Crack._

They were together.

They showed up to the party at my house together.

Side by side…

I just started at the both of them for a few moments. Going from Kuchiki-san to Kurosaki-kun, and back and forth, like a vicious cycle. Kuchiki-san coughed that broke my current distraction. I couldn't tell if she actually had to cough, or it was on purpose. Either way, I stopped staring and actually started to speak; though my voice came out very ragged and quiet.

"Ah, hello Kuchiki-san, Kurosaki-kun." I put on another fake smile, starting to feel my eyes hurt again. My eyelashes started to feel wet as well, but I tried my best to hold back my weak side. "Welcome, please come in." Kuchiki-san just nodded and stepped in, proceeding to take off her shoes. Kurosaki-kun followed, his face appearing to be a bit red.

I wonder if Kuchiki-san said something to him on his way here… I shook my head from that thought. It could have just been because of the cold… It _was_ winter… But then again, they could have been talking about something that concerned each other…

"Ah, Rukia, you're here! Come over here, hurry!"

"W-wait!" Kuchiki-san stuttered. Abarai-kun grabbed Kuchiki-san's wrist and pulled her into the other room, leaving Kurosaki-kun and I alone in the hallway. My face started to heat up a bit, but I shook that off too. I had promised myself that I would forget. If I really loved him, then I had to let him go…

"Ah, thanks for having this party at your place," Kurosaki-kun broke me out of my thoughts again. He scratched the back of his head, looking off to the side. "I'm sure people will have fun tonight." I folded my arms and kept them close to by body, as an unconscious, physical response.

"I-it's no problem… Rangiku-san is a friend, and it wasn't really a big deal anyway." I stuttered. I surprisingly didn't sound extremely nervous. I didn't feel extremely nervous either… Just sad… I really need to stop pitying myself.

To be honest, ever since I saw Kurosaki-kun after opening the door, I felt like all my energy was drained from my body. I was suddenly left really, really tired. I leaned against the nearby wall, and rested my head against it, closing my eyes as well. "It's good to see everyone again too. Especially since it's on better terms now anyway." I faked a half-hearted laugh; "No one's getting hurt here tonight."

_Hopefully…_

"Yeah…" He responded in a casual voice. I couldn't actually see him, since my eyes were closed and all, but I heard his voice. The smooth voice that always comforted me when I was in trouble… How I loved listening to his voice…

"It's…" He paused, "It's nice to see you, Inoue… I'm glad you're doing well…" He spoke softly.

_Crack._

My heart did a flip and I felt my face grow even hotter.

_Liar… You're not doing well. You're a fucking mess because of him._

I tightened my grip on my arms. "I-it's good to see you too… Kurosaki-kun." I felt the tension growing in the air… So much, it seemed like it was going to engulf me completely. I turned to my side, still having my eyes closed. I felt that if I opened them now, I'd probably start crying. Plus, he could probably see right through me, and demand what's wrong… And I wouldn't want to get him mad again. This was the first time I've seen him since Hueco Mundo, and it was slightly nerve-wracking, considering what I did… I'm surprised he hasn't gotten extremely mad at me yet.

"How are you feeling?" He broke the awkward silence.

"I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?…" I mumbled, sounding slightly rude as well.

"Well, I just thought you'd be having some aftereffects after you got rid of the Hōgyoku…" Ah… That what was he was referring to… He is still only thinking about 'work'.

_Flashback_

"_"Sōten Kisshun… I reject…" I whispered. I was in the room with the Hōgyoku in it. The walls around me were falling down._

'_Finally… I can be of some help to Kurosaki-kun…" I though grimly, smiling weakly to myself. 'Everything will be fine after the Hōgyoku is gone, and Kurosaki-kun will be happy.'_

"_Inoue!" I heard my voice being yelled. I turned around slowly, still making sure I had concentration on the Hōgyoku. It was Kurosaki-kun. He was running towards me, yelling my name. There was a huge gap in the ground that kept us apart. "Inoue!!" He yelled again. I kept a straight face on, but inside my heart was beating very fast. My shield around the Hōgyoku seemed to flash brighter suddenly._

"_What are you doing Inoue!? The building is falling, we need to get out of here!" Kurosaki-kun yelled out to me, holding out his hand. "Jump Inoue, I'll catch you!" I turned around to face him completely, my heart racing a mile a minute. The Hōgyoku and my shield started to shine even more. I shook my head at Kurosaki-kun. _

"_I can't…" I mumbled to him, my eyes getting wet._

"_What?! Why not!?" His voice sounding desperate. "We came all the way to Hueco Mundo to rescue you, and you're just going to let it all go like that?" Another wall fell down, very close to me this time. I nodded to him, smiling. Tears were now falling freely down my cheeks._

"_I can finally do something for Kurosaki-kun." I grinned at him. I probably looked foolish, but this could be the last time I saw him. Another flash brightened up the room even more._

"_Inoue!"_

"_I'm no longer a burden, Kurosaki-kun." I spoke, barely choking out the words. Another flash, but this one was brighter than the last. I turned back around to face the Hōgyoku, my eyes all clouded up from the tears. Kurosaki-kun was still yelling out my name behind me, but I ignored it. I needed to do this._

_By the time I could see more clearly, I could see the Hōgyoku was almost gone. Almost disappeared._

"_This is for the best anyway…" I whispered to myself. I was starting to feel incredibly weak, but I expected this. I've already assumed that once the Hōgyoku was completely gone, so would I. I'd use all my power and energy to make it disappear._

"_Good bye… Ichigo…" I mouthed the words to myself, as the room filled up with one last intense light, before everything turned black._

_End Flashback_

I recalled that the next thing that happened was that I was Uraharah-san's shop, and it was 3 days after the whole incident. They didn't say anything to me at first, but they only gave me small, gentle smiles, that almost went unnoticed.

"I'm fine… I'm still a bit tired though." I faked another smile to Kurosaki-kun, trying to stop replaying the last Hōgyoku incident in my head. "I'll be alright though. I never get hurt or sick."

_Double liar._

I opened my eyes slightly, but kept my gaze on the ground.

"Inoue-" He started to say, but was cut off by someone knocking on the door. Again.

"Ah, you should go in the other room. It's no fun being here in the hallway." I pretended to laugh at myself. "I'll answer the door." He just looked at me with suspicious eyes, then proceeded took a few steps forward. I was about to reach for the door handle until he said something that made me stop momentarily.

"You look really nice tonight, Inoue."

_Crack._

The dam that held all my tears suddenly broke. I knew that he had gone into the other room, but even being alone in the hallway felt like pure torture, and I didn't know why. I wiped my eyes and opened the door handle, finding Madarame-san and Ayasegawa-san talking amongst themselves on the front porch, but suddenly concerned to see me crying.

"W-w-welcome," I barely managed to say, "Please come in." Once again, there was another fake smile upon my face, only this time, I had tears running down my cheeks, and it felt like they were never going to stop.

"U-Um, a-are you okay?!" Ayasegawa-san asked politely. Still having tears on my face and my nose running insanely, I sobbed to the both of them, still trying to smile.

"C-could you get Tatsuki-chan for me?" I stuttered, pointing to the other room. They both nodded fiercely and rushed off.

_He said I looked nice… I don't know if I should be happy or sad!_

Tatsuki-chan was at my side in a matter of seconds.

"Orihime, what's wrong?!" I looked at her, my fake smile now gone. I was just sobbing like a baby now.

"K-ku-ku-kurosaki-kun." I stuttered and stumbled with my words, reaching out to hug her. She hugged me quicker than I could hug her. She was squeezing me so tightly that I could hardly breath. For some reason though, it felt like a relief; not being able to breathe. I couldn't explain it, but I liked it. Does that mean I could be a possible masochist? No, now wasn't the time to be asking myself idiotic questions!

"What did that idiot do now?" She whispered worriedly into my ear. Rangiku-san stepped into the hall, not putting her 10 cents into the conversation, but said this instead:

"Take Orihime to another room. People might hear what's going on." She smiled lightly. "I'll handle this stuff, okay Orihime-chan?" I just shook my head to her.

"I-I'm fine…" I mumbled, trying not to shake too much. I didn't want to leave- be an outcast of this party.

"What happened?" Rangiku-san put her hand on my back, as a gesture to try soothing my current emotions. Now she was a bit curious as to what was going on. I felt my face heat up again and my tears were still abundant on my face and in my eyes. I still tried my best to look straight at both of them. I needed to hold my head high.

"H-he said I looked really nice tonight. I just don't know if I should be happy or sad…" I brought my hands to my face to wipe away my tears. "Aha, my makeup is probably all ruined," I tried laughing at myself, and take away some of the tension from the current situation.

"We can fix your makeup, you baka." Tatsuki-chan held my hands, looking into my eyes deeply, but still smiling sincerely. "Just take a deep breath, and we'll march into the other room with confidence, right?" I nodded and smiled at her. She always had this way to make me feel a bit better. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. It suddenly felt if some of the weight on my shoulders was gone. I still felt weighed down though. Darn me and my emotions!

"Rangiku-san, can you do door duty for the rest of the night?" Tatsuki-chan asked her. Rangiku-san just nodded as a response and smiled.

"Sure thing! But first-" She paused, pulling the lip gloss out from… I don't even know where. "Orihime-chan needs to reapply this stuff." She unscrewed the top of the container. "Lovely lip gloss for a lovely girl." She grinned, and quickly brushed more of the sweet strawberry smelling gloss onto my probably swollen lips. At this point, I already knew my eyes were swollen, so I had to naturally assume that the rest of my face was swollen as well.

"Tatsuki-chan… Rangiku-san…" I opened my eyes and looked at them confidently. "Thank you very much." I gave them both a huge smile. Now the question is, was it a fake smile again, or a real one?

_**Ichigo's POV**_

I had placed myself into a seat next to Renji. He and Rukia were talking about something with Soul Society, but I didn't really care all that much, and chose to just sit there in my own thoughts.

What I had said to Inoue… Was it a wrong thing to say? Sure, it was as embarrassing as hell to say, but it was true… She did look incredibly beautiful.

Tatsuki was true as well though, unfortunately. Inoue did appear to lose a lot of weight, and just standing with her for a few minutes, she seemed very, very tired. Maybe she didn't think that I noticed her leaning against the wall. I shuddered as I recalled what my inner hollow was saying when she did that.

"_**See, she's totally defenseless right now, I can tell. Just grab her shoulder and start making out with her. You know you'll like it King!"**_

I ran a hand through my hair, sighing in my head. I felt so stressed out. For the past week, besides recovering from my injuries, I've been thinking about Inoue constantly. I don't even know why, but I've just brushed it off as 'We're nakama'. My inner hollow kept replying with his own, embarrassing remarks, saying it "_**wasn't any**_ _**Nakama shit**_".

As if he didn't have enough commentary from this past week, he's made remarks about me seeing Inoue when she was still recovering at Uraharah's place, even though I could hardly move myself. She kept me on edge, by not waking up for almost 3 days. Reversing the time for the Hōgyoku must have taken up a lot of her energy. I narrowed my eyes. I still had a lot to ask her about that… Her reasons, and what's really happening now.

"Ooooooh, Orihime-chan, you are so cute!" Matsumoto-san came bursting back into the room, with Inoue in a headlock. Tatsuki just followed behind them, smiling weakly. "Isn't she?!" Matsumoto-san now had Inoue's shoulders in her hand, and was pushing her around the room, showing her to everyone. Inoue just laughed a bit, but tried to fend her off at the same time as well.  
"R-Rangiku-san!" She spoke quietly. Another knock was heard at the door. Matsumoto-san dropped Inoue onto the floor, quite fiercely I might add, which caused all of us who were watching, to gasp at her violent act to Inoue.  
"Ah! I'll get it," she just bounced off, and left Inoue on the floor.

"Owwie," She spoke softly, rubbing her stomach, as if that was the part that was in most pain.

"Inoue, your chin looks like it kind of hurts too. Do you want some ice for it?" Rukia asked, very closely to Inoue's face. Inoue just jumped back, for some weird reason, and her expression seemed to get worried.

"Ah, no, I'll be fine." She started to pound her head with her fist. "I never get hurt!" Tatsuki, who was in the corner of my vision, seemed to shudder quickly after she said that. I wonder why that was…

"So what is there to do now?" Renji spoke loudly and rudely.

"Renji, you haven't even been here more than 15 minutes." I replied to him just as roughly in tone.

"Wrong. In case you haven't noticed, it's been almost an hour since I got here. Boy, are you slow with your times, man." He laughed. Rangiku-san bounced back into the room with Ishida and Chad following behind. Both appeared to be a bit red, especially Ishida. "Anyway, what now?" I rolled my eyes and Inoue started to speak, still sitting on the floor.

"W-we could play a game or something." She smiled, putting a finger on her chin, as an action to show that she was trying to come up with a game to play.  
"Orihime," Tatsuki whispered to her from behind, "That could end badly…"

"How?" She just responded innocently. Inoue really didn't get it. Matsumoto-san just sat down in the middle of the floor, with quite a few sake bottles in her hands.

"Orihime-chan, get some cups!" She commanded. Inoue just stood up immediately, shouting, "Yes!" and running into the kitchen.

"Um, Matsumoto-san," Ishida started, "Some of us are underage, we can't drink…" She just pouted at him.

"Of course you can. It's a party, it's okay to loosen up a bit." She put a few of the bottles on the floor. "I can guarantee you that you _won't_ be wasted by the end of this." I highly doubted what she was saying. But it would be interesting to see what kind of drunks some of these people were. Inoue came back into the room, with an armful of cups. As she ran past me, I vaguely smelled something fruity…

Strawberry? Or maybe it was something else, like mango…

I shook it off and focused back on the others.

"I have the cups!" She held one high, as she spoke very confidently. Tatsuki-chan sat down behind Inoue, keeping rather close to her. "What game are we playing?" She smiled at Matsumoto-san. She just grinned at all of us.

"We're going to play 'Have you ever?'!"

* * *

A/N: Lol, this chapter was terrifying. There was so much shit going on here, it was confusing as hell. If you have any questions about what just happened (I know I do), please ask me, and I'll try to answer them to the best of my knowledge!

Also, how you play "Have you ever", is give enough drinks to the # of people who are playing (Usually played with alcohol, but underage kids probably/usually use non-alcoholic drinks). Once everyone has enough of the _______ drink, one asks a question, "Have you ever _____________?" And the people who have, tape a sip. The ones who haven't done the __________ event, don't take a drink. And the process continues, and continues, except with different questions every time, lol.

I guess it keeps going until most of the participants are drunk to a high degree? I dunno, haha.

If you liked this chapter, please review! I enjoy hearing feedback, whether it be good or bad. Thanks for reading!


	4. Drunk vs Dream

A/N: I didn't even think about a certain question until a review asked about it, lol. It's a PERFECT question to have someone ask, so thank you to **ReverIchihime**!! I will use their question in this chapter~

Enjoy this chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 4**

_**Ichigo's POV**_

"Eh?" Inoue questioned. "How do you play that?" Renji just sighed heavily, pouring some sake into his cup, and passed it on.

"Just take a sip of that stuff after someone asks a question," He pointed to her cup.

"Every time?" She gasped lightly. Renji sighed again, muttering something about stupid humans. Tatsuki tapped Inoue's shoulder.

"No, Orihime. Only if you've done the question they've asked. Like, 'Did you sleep last night?' if you did, you take a sip." Inoue formed an 'O' with her mouth. She kind of did look cute doing that…

Uraharah, who was next to me, shoved the bottle at me. I poured some into my cup, taking it slow. This was my first time handling alcohol. I shouldn't have been so distraught about it though. I acted as if it was going to spontaneously combust in my face. I handed it off to Tatsuki, but she refused. Come to think of it, Yoruichi-san had refused as well…

"Sorry, but I'm the only one who wants to stay sober here because I need to keep an eye on someone." Someone? My guess was Inoue, but Tatsuki was pretty suspicious of me as of lately, so it could have been me as well.

"I'll start, and then we'll go in a circle," Matsumoto-san pointed to herself, grinning almost maniacally. "We'll start easy."  
"Have you ever walked into a wall or lamppost or something, and got seriously hurt?" She grinned, looking around the room at the guests.

"Rangiku, that's a terrible one." Renji mumbled. I had to agree with him on that though. It was pretty stupid. There was one person who actually had, and all eyes were on her.

Inoue.

Her face was red, and she held the glass up to her lips, taking a small sip. "Um… Multiple times, actually," she hiccuped lightly. Tatsuki just rolled her eyes, inching a bit closer to Inoue. "I guess I'm just a bit clumsy…" A bit? Try a lot! There always had to be someone constantly watching her.

"Rukia's turn!" Matsumoto shouted.

"Keep your volume down," Rukia stated before asking a question. "Um, this isn't a good one, but have you ever fallen asleep in the bathtub?" Considering most of the people here usually don't physically manifest, that was another bad question. I had to take a sip though. Sometimes it was a _bit _too relaxing, and I had accidentally dozed off. Matsumoto-san and Inoue both took a sip. Poor Inoue. If anything, _she _was going to be the one wasted at the end of this, the way it was going. I guess I was still a bit curious as to how she reacts to alcohol.

"Come one, think of some better questions. I haven't even taken a drink yet, and that busty girl on the other side of the room has already taken two!" I looked over at Inoue to see how she was holding up. Her eyelids had drooped a bit, making her look even more tired, and her cheeks had a significant change in color to them.

"Er, are you okay Inoue?" I asked in a slightly worried tone. She just looked down at her cup, then back at me. Her face seemed to turn redder upon looking at me.

"I'm alright…" She mumbled. She didn't sound very good either. "Who's next?" She looked around the room and smiled half-heartedly.

"I'm next!" Renji exclaimed, very amused that it was his turn. "Have you ever had a naughty dream about the person you like, or have previously liked?"

"Ah, what a good question, Renji-kun!" Uraharah-san, smiling lightly. "All the time!" He grabbed onto Yoruichi-san's waist, pulling her close, and taking a sip. I shuddered at his thought. That was just disturbing, the whole Uraharah-Yoruichi thing.

I actually have had an, erm… Embarrassing dream before. What concerned me even more was that it was Inoue in my dreams. I felt my face heat up a bit, and hesitated to take a drink until I saw who else did.

Ishida took a drink, as well as Matsumoto, Rukia, and Renji. Both Rukia and Renji got red on the spot, after taking a sip. Personally, I think Renji asked that question, just so he could drink some alcohol. I was very surprised at Ishida though… Not curious enough to know whom it was about though.

And surprisingly, Inoue took yet another sip from her cup.

Wait… Inoue?! She's the most innocent girl I've ever met! How could she even have such a dream as what Renji was referring to?

What I also wanted to know was who was the person she likes. And even having _certain _fantasies about that person as well. I felt a tinge of jealousy in my heart, but I tried to put it aside as I took a drink of the alcohol. It tasted quite bitter, but oddly enough, I could see why someone could get addicted to it. I looked over at Inoue to see how she was faring.

Her face was quite flushed now and her eyes appeared that she was completely zoned out. They were glazed over, I suppose you would call it. I looked at Tatsuki, and she just gave me a small smirk.

"Yoruichi-san's turn." Renji spoke, more quietly this time. She looked up and around at the group, and spoke in a quiet voice.

"Have you ever attempted to kiss a person when they didn't know it you were doing it?" I looked around the group to see who was taking a drink. I personally never did such a thing, but then again, I've never even thought about stuff like kissing and what not.

"Orihime?!" Tatsuki exclaimed. All eyes focused in on Inoue, who was taking yet _another _sip. Matsumoto-san giggled.

"Orihime-chan, you sly girl. Who was the almost lucky guy?" She smirked. Inoue just looked up, and around at everyone, with her eyes half-drooped and her cheeks a rosy color.

"It's…" She started. To be honest, I wanted to know whom it was she tried to kiss. I felt another ping of jealousy tug at my heart. Everyone had gotten a bit closer to Inoue, to hear what she was going to say, including myself.

"It's way too hot in here, isn't it?" She spoke smoothly and kind of out of it. She adjusted her legs into a more… Um, suggestive position. "Why is it so hot in here?" Inoue started to pull her straps down on her dress. Uraharah and Renji, who decided to drink anyway, since the game was going so slowly, had suddenly spit out all their drinks out of their mouths, causing a huge mess.

"Tatsuki-chan, can you help me with the zipper? I'm way too hot to stay in this dress." She asked Tatsuki, raising her arms to point to the zipper. Tatsuki, who was still behind Inoue, exclaimed to her.

"Orihime!" She glared at Matsumoto-san. "She's drunk, you big idiot. Why are you giving alcohol to minors?" Matsumoto-san just shrugged.

"How was I supposed to know that she would take a sip at every question?" Inoue started to unzip her dress herself. All at the same time, Ishida, Chad, Yoruichi-san, Uraharah, and the others, some I couldn't remember their names, had all stood up, and made a hasty exit to the kitchen.

"L-let's get some food!"

"Yes, yes, let's!"

The only ones left in the room where Matsumoto-san, Tatsuki, a partially clad Inoue, and myself. I felt my face heat up immensely, and I set my cup on the floor.

_No more alcohol… I don't want to end up like her._

_**Just think of what we could do to her now! She's so out of it, she wouldn't even notice a thing!**_

"Ichigo, take her outside! She can cool down out there," Tatsuki exclaimed, shoving the undressing Inoue at me, who just looked at me confused and slightly embarrassed.

"W-why me!?!" I yelled back at her. "Why not one of you two?" The both shook their heads.

"She's had enough of us to last her a lifetime," Matsumoto-san explained, putting her hands in the formation of an X.

"S-shit." I mumbled, picking Inoue up from the floor, by her waist. Her waist seemed so… perfectly curvy… I only wished I could touch it without having the clothing in between.

I shook my head, trying to clear it of those thoughts. I had to get Inoue out of there as quickly as possible; otherwise she would be completely out of her dress. I blushed hard at the thought. I made a hasty retreat to the door that I had previously entered in.

"K-Kurosaki-kun?" Inoue mumbled, still fiddling around with her dress. I tried my best not to look at her, but she looked so…

_**Seductive? Hot? Sexy? She IS all of the above, King. **_My inner hollow laughed to himself again, putting in yet another embarrassing remark. I opened the door handle quickly, and a gust of cold air came straight at us. Making sure the door behind me, I looked around for a good spot to put Inoue, who seemed to stop undressing herself. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ahh, it's so much cooler outside." She sighed to herself, plopping herself onto the ground, stretching out her smooth legs… It must have snowed lightly while we were inside and gotten quite dark as well. Personally, I thought it was the surroundings couldn't have been better as I took a seat next to Inoue.

* * *

**_Orihime's POV_**

"Are you drunk, Inoue?" I heard a low, smooth voice ask me. It sounded low enough to be a guy's voice, but I couldn't figure out whom the voice belonged to.

"Nah, I'm fine," I slurred my words together. I'd only had… 4 sips of alcohol? That's hardly considered a large amount of alcohol to get drunk off.

"How are you feeling?" The voice asked again. My head was started to hurt me a bit, but somehow the voice seemed to sooth that nagging tension currently residing in my brain…

"I'm tired…" I stuttered, accidentally leaning to the side. I slowly fell and landed in the other person's lap. I didn't know who it was, and honestly, I didn't care. It felt so comfortable, I would guess that I could sleep very decently in this spot, as opposed to my sleeping of previous nights.

"Do you not get enough sleep at night?" I shook my head in their lap. I suddenly felt a hot, heavy hand on my head. The hand started to stroke my hair, as a sign of… Possible comfort?  
"I haven't been sleeping well for a while… The last week I think… Maybe." I tried to think, but it hurt my head too much, so I didn't try all that hard.

"Why not?" His voice sounding more concerned. I smiled a bit to myself, wishing that this could be the perfect moment if this was Kurosaki-kun…

"N-nightmares," I whispered staggeringly.

"About what?" The hand stroked my hair softly and slowly. I pouted my lips, trying to think again what I was fearing every night.  
"The usual…" I murmured. "Uummm… Hueco Mundo… Aizen… Arrancar…" I paused, trying to think of the last one, without trying too hard. "Oh, Kurosaki-kun too…" The hand suddenly froze, and the voice started sounding shaky.

"You have dreams about m- I mean, him?" I just nodded again as a response, staying silent for a few moments. The hand started to caress my hair once again.

"Those eyes…" I mumbled quietly. The hand's grip on my hair suddenly got a bit tenser. "I keep seeing those eyes… And I remember my brother on that night he turned into a Hollow…" I sighed lightly. "I know I shouldn't be afraid of Kurosaki-kun, I have no reason to…" Another hand had found its way to my cold, open shoulder. I shuttered a bit at the sudden contact. The other hand was warm as well. "I just feel like his eyes can't see me… More so when he's um," I paused, "In his hollow form?"

I shifted my head and open my eyes slightly. I couldn't see much, as it was quite blurry, but I thought I saw gentle brown eyes, and vivid orange hair.

If this really were Kurosaki-kun, this would be perfect… Except for the whole, 'Me blurting out all this nonsense in front of him' stuff… That: Not so good.

And then I remembered that this stuff could only happen in my dreams. So it'd be natural to assume that this was a dream, right? I laughed a bit.

"Hm?" The voice questioned. I just smiled to myself.

"This is a dream…" I pulled my shoulders close to my body, with the other hand still on my shoulder, following my movements. A slightly chilly breeze blew past us both, temporarily giving me the shivers.

"What makes you so sure of that?" His voice rang out. Now that I listened to it a bit more carefully, it resembled Kurosaki-kun's voice a bit. I chuckled a bit.

"Because if you're Kurosaki-kun, then this is a dream…" I sighed lightly, starting to feel a bit happy about my current location, and my 'dream'. "Because Kurosaki-kun would never treat me as nice as this in real life, when I'm awake." The hands tightened their grip on me. I just smiled weakly.

"And what if this isn't a dream?" His voice spoke quietly. "And what if this really is 'Kurosaki-kun'?" I just shook my head fiercely.

"Nope… I still wouldn't believe it."

"Why not?" He asked again.

"Because Kurosaki-kun would never love me." I stated simply. It was weird… Normally I wouldn't be able to say something like, that, so easily, just because it hurt me so much, to the point of tears. starting to get up from the person's lap. My head really hurt, so I had to take it slow. The person's hand that was on my shoulder, went to my neck instead, and suddenly pulled me closer to him.

"Hey, what do you think you're doi-" I tried to ask, but got cut off by a soft pressure on my lips. I was confused, but I found it to be really pleasurable, actually. I felt his hot breath on my face, and part of me wanted this moment to last forever.

I couldn't lie to myself anymore…

I love Kurosaki-kun. Always have, always will, and it'll never change. I'll never be able to not love him with my entire being.

My only solution left was to avoid him entirely… I just needed to wake up and actually put my decision into motion.

But part of me didn't want to wake up.

* * *

**_Ichigo's POV_**

I learned three things about Inoue:

She was a sarcastic, but an honest drunk. She definitely wasn't herself when she was in a drunken state. But oddly, I really liked it; her 'different' personality. It was for sure, very interesting.

Something else was definitely up with her that she wasn't telling me about. When she was talking earlier, she had a worried tone in her voice, but it didn't seem quite normal. My guess was that it had something to do with Hueco Mundo or something.

She possibly has, or had some sort of feelings for me. I, unfortunately, decided to act on it, without even knowing about my own feelings first.

After hearing, "Because Kurosaki-kun would never love me," I felt a huge tug at my heart, and it hurt like hell. I didn't want to let her go, to have her leave. I didn't know why, I just didn't…

She had fallen back onto my lap, and was now snoring softly. It was started to get a bit colder now, but she just curled up into a fetal position, with her head in my lap.

I heard the door creak open, and I slowly turned my head to see who it was. It was Tatsuki.

"How is she now?" She asked quietly. I shrugged a bit, but not trying to move much for fear of waking up Inoue.

"Better, I suppose… She's sleeping now…" Tatsuki nodded, and smirked.

"She didn't take off her dress, did she?" My face heated up a bit.

"N-no, she didn't. She was fine as soon as we stepped outside…" I paused, then continued, trying to change the subject. "How are things in there?" She just sighed heavily.

"Hell… They're making a huge mess, and we've already gotten a few calls from the neighbors about the noise."

""Haven't you asked them to quite down some?!" I fumed quietly at her. I would never forgive myself if Inoue got kicked out of her apartment because of a bunch of other drunks.

"They're all drunk. I can't do much about it." She folded her arms. "Anyway, it's cold, and it's getting late, and you two will freeze if you stay out here any longer." I raised an eyebrow.

"Late?" I asked. She nodded.

"It's almost 11." Have we been out here for more than two hours?! I guess time really did fly past. I nodded as a response. Good thing this winter was warmer than usual. Normally we would've been frozen by now.

"Um… How am I going to pick her up?" I asked, trying to determine what to do with Inoue. I really didn't want to wake her.

"Why not wake her up?" Tatsuki kneeled down, poking Inoue in the cheek. She stirred a bit, but continued sleeping soundly right away.

"I don't want to wake her. She said she hasn't been sleeping well." I moved Tatsuki's finger away from her face.

"Why?" She asked.

"Nightmares…" I replied simply. Though her nightmares didn't sound very simply at all.

"Ah… Then just pick her up." Tatsuki spoke, standing back up, brushing some snow off her dress. I _was _planning on picking her up, I just didn't know how.

Putting over my shoulder was definitely out of the question. It worked when we were at Hueco Mundo, but she was awake and sober then.

I eventually just picked her up, having one arm under her knees, and the other behind her back.

"Bridal-style?" Tatsuki chuckled, trying to make a joke.

"S-shut up!" I stuttered, still trying to be quiet. Tatsuki opened the door for me, smiling. I was about to go in, but she said something that made me even more embarrassed.

"Nice lip gloss, Ichigo."

* * *

A/N: This story is NOT going the direction I wanted it to, lol. It turned out soooo different. Oh well… I suppose if you like it, it's okay.

Please review! I accept good comments or bad, I just want to hear your thoughts!!


	5. The Hangover Tells All

A/N: Oh ****, this chapter is SO SO SO SO SO OOC… I'm so sorry. ;_; Please bear with it for one chapter, I needed to write _something_, because honestly, I went off track with how I wanted the story, but now it's all ker-jumbled up.

Almost 1,000 hits, oh my!!! :O Thank you all for the wonderful reviews I've received up till now. I want to send a special thank you shout out to those reviewers that have, er… Reviewed:

VergilTheart

**IntimateWords**

**xXsnowfeltXx**

**Enelya87**

**AsymmetricalPerfection**

**Tia-Chan18**

**ReverIchihime**

**DancerGrl16**

**Miss L**

**Perennial Lurker**

I appreciate every single review, with all your sincere thoughts about my story. Now onto the chapter!

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 5**

_**Orihime's POV**_

_Punch._

_Kick._

_Rip._

_I screamed in terror and pain as the two female Arrancar were beating me up again. It hurt much, much more this time though._

"_You bitch… Don't think you should be so high and mighty. You hardly have any power…" One of the girls spit in my face._

"_I don't see how Aizen-sama even wants to use trash like you. You're just a useless whore." The other kicked me in the face._

"_Inoue!!" A male voice yelled out. It sounded familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on whom it belonged to. My mind was too clouded from being hit so much. I tried to open my eyes, but my eyelids were too heavy._

_I suddenly heard the screams from the girls, but I couldn't see what happened to them._

"_Inoue!" The voice called out again. I felt a pair of callused hands grab my shoulders, which were now bare, after the girls partially ripped my clothes off._

_The hands felt warm. I suddenly felt like I had a bit more energy than before, even though I was still in a much-weakened state. I slowly attempted to open my eyes once again. It took some time, but I eventually could completely see. I couldn't see anything entirely clear though, as my head was still adjusting to the new scenery._

_I squinted and saw bright orange hair and… Piercing yellow eyes? I snapped my eyes open and saw that it was Kurosaki-kun… But it wasn't really him._

_It was his hollow. And he bared an evil grin, like he was going to devour me whole._

"_It's no use screaming, Inoue." He cackled to himself. "It'll all be over soon, I promise." His eyes looked into my very soul, and sensed that I was terrified beyond belief._

_And then I screamed._

* * *

I awoke to a loud, but muffled crash, which caused me to sit up immediately.

Not such a good idea.

My head was throbbing with pain, caused from sitting up way too fast.

"Owwwiee, my head…" I mumbled to myself. I gripped my hair, in response to the pain, but it didn't make it hurt any less. My cheeks felt hot and wet, and my saturated eyelashes were causing my eyes to become very heavy, and remained closed.

"You okay?" I heard a low voice whisper into the dark room. I immediately stiffened up. "You didn't sleep very long, but it was sleep none-the-less…" His voice… I couldn't comprehend it.

"W-who are you?" I tried to open my eyes a bit, but I couldn't see anything anyway. It was completely dark. My eyes darted to the digital alarm clock on the side of the room. It read 3:46 AM. How long had I been asleep for anyway? Everything seems so hazy, I can't remember.

"It's me, Inoue…" The voice got quieter, but the tone of his voice was gentle. Not as scary as the hollow-voice I heard in my dream. I shuddered.

A small light suddenly turned on. Kurosaki-kun had turned on my small desk lamp, and it only slightly illuminated the room. I could at least tell where he was at now, even with my clouded eyes. I pulled my legs close to my body and wrapped my arms around them, as a position of comfort for myself. My head continued to nag on about its pain.

"How are you feeling?" He asked again. My face felt hot.  
"I-I'm fine… My head just hurts a bit…" I murmured. I didn't want to talk to loudly for fear that it would hurt even worse. I also had a nagging feeling in my stomach, like I'd promised myself something important, but I was too unfocused to remember what it was.

"Are you sure?" Kurosaki-kun asked me again… Did he not believe me?

Then again, I didn't believe myself that much either. I keep lying and lying to myself, saying that I'm fine.

"No…" I sighed. My head hurt a lot, my stomach was telling me that something was off, and my lips had an odd, numb feeling to them. I shook it off, and shuddered again. I slowly reached for the blanket that was sitting next to me. Kurosaki-kun must have covered me with it while I was sleeping. "W-why are you still here so late? You should be home, getting some sleep." I stuttered, wrapping the blanket around my bare shoulders. He just snorted in response.

"I'd hardly be able to get any sleep with them around." I closed my eyes and let myself hear the surroundings. I heard meaningless chatters, and some odd pounding as well.

"They're still here!?" I exclaimed, a bit too loudly, I might add, which caused my head to ache immensely.

"Yup," He spoke softly. "Plus Tatsuki wanted me to watch over you. You know, so you didn't get hurt or doing anything stupid." Why couldn't Tatsuki-chan just do it? I'm sure she'd do a fine job of watching me.

"Do something stupid? Like what?" I asked curiously, while holding my head. It didn't help much, but it made me feel better anyway. He just laughed a bit, and from what I saw, his face was a bit red as well… Or it could have well been the lighting too.

"Like complain about how hot it is, then start taking off your clothes." My face got intensely hot. That actually happened?! I thought it was just a dream!

"I-I-I-I did that?" I choked out the words. That's just so unlike me to do something like that.

"Yeah…" He chuckled again, and paused, "I took you outside though, and you fell right asleep." His face had a small scowl to it, but a partial smile as well.

But he was lying. I didn't fall asleep right away. My memory was coming back gradually, and painfully as well, but I could remember it vaguely.

I told him everything. About my nightmares, about how Kurosaki-kun's actions could only be in dreams, and…

I threw my hands up to my lips.

Oh God…

He kissed me.

_He _kissed _me!_

He apparently noticed my action and his face turned red too. He quickly averted his gaze, and started to stare at the floor instead. My previously wet cheeks were starting to become saturated again, only this time, with new tears. I sniffed, trying to hold back the majority of my tears. Kurosaki-kun looked back at me again, eyes filled with concern now- not embarrassment.

"W-what's wrong?" He stuttered, reaching out to me. _Just like back in Hueco Mundo… _I shuffled back, trying to avoid his hand and him entirely.

Why did he have to do this to me? I already decided to forget him entirely, why did he have to go and make my heart waver and regret?

"N-nothing… Just remembering a n-nightmare is all…" I sniffed, lying again. I trying to keep my tears back even more.

"Oh…" He whispered. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

_Just leave me alone. I'd rather be in pain by myself, than have you watch me cry._

"No… There isn't…" I stuttered, pulling up the blanket to my face. We had a few minutes of silence. There was much tension in the air, which only made the silence unbearable.

"Inoue… Can I ask you a question?" I looked up at him slowly, with tears still in my eyes. He scratched his head. "Maybe a few…" He changed his gaze from the floor, to me. His eyes were full of his usual determination, and… Something else? Sadness? Concern? I couldn't quite put my finger on it. I nodded through the blanket.

"Back in Hueco Mundo…" He started. I didn't like where this was going already. "In the room with the Hōgyoku in it…" I shuddered again, suddenly embracing the stupid feeling of fear. "Why did you do what you did?" His eyes showed that he wanted the answer. And not some stupid lie either.

"The Hōgyoku had to be destroyed somehow… I had already planned on getting rid of it myself." I shrugged slightly, still feeling a lump in my throat while I spoke. And it wasn't entirely the truth, but it wasn't a complete lie either.

"But why did you take on such a heavy burden yourself? You could have…" He paused, his face forming a pained look. "Died…" He finished quite forcibly. I lowered my eyes.

There was no getting away from this man. The man I truly loved.

Even as friends, nakama, he'd never try to pry so much information out of me. I didn't understand what use this knowledge would be to him. It's not like it affected him in any way… Right?

_Crack._

"It had to be done, Kurosaki-kun… No one else could have done it." I mumbled, pulling my legs even closer to my body. He suddenly had an outburst.

"But did you even think about how many people would miss you if you died?" He paused, grabbing his shirt tightly, like he was in pain now. "Did you even think about how I would feel if you died?" My eyes got big, and I stared into his. His eyes were full of so many mixed emotions; I couldn't even pinpoint at least one.

_Crack._

_Kurosaki-kun…_

_My heart is telling me that he's thinking that we're more than friends, or he maybe wants to be… But my mind is telling me that it's impossible for him to be even close to love me._

_I only cause trouble for Kurosaki-kun… _

My tears started up again. I nodded to him, starting to speak again.

"I did…" His eyes got big.

"And?!" He exclaimed, making my head hurt again. I just smiled weakly at him, tears still trapped in my eyelashes.

"I told you… Kurosaki-kun will never love me."

_I said it… _

"I only cause trouble for Kurosaki-kun…"

_All these bottled up feelings… I'm saying them to him now._

"And I don't want to keep loving you if I only cause you pain."

_My heart… It feels much lighter now…_

I still smiled at him vaguely. My tears were again running down my face, but I didn't care now. He knew, and that's all that mattered to me.

"Aha, my makeup's probably all ruined again." I sobbed, rubbing my eyes. "T-that's the second time I've had to reapply it today." I half-heartedly joked around. He just stared at me like I was crazy.

I probably was crazy.

I had no logic to what I just did.

But in reality, what I just told him was just a small fraction of an even bigger wound in my heart: The one that contained my nightmares, memories, and horrid thoughts.

I stood up slowly, trying not to make my head hurt again. My tears were starting to subdue themselves, only leaving me with swollen eyes.

"Ah, I'm hungry. I'm going to go then…" I sighed, patting my stomach. He still continued to stare at me, as if he didn't comprehend a word I said.

But just saying it alone made me feel a bit better regardless. At least for the time being.

I walked over to my door, opening to hear loud sounds from the other partygoers in the opposite room.

"Talk to you later," I started to close the door behind me, "Kurosaki-kun…" I closed the door completely, slightly wondering.

_I wonder if I still have some alcohol in my system…_

* * *

A/N: Sorry for cutting it shorter than other chapters, it just seemed so much more logical to cut it off here, because of how I want to start it for the next chapter.

Again, sorry if Orihime is OOC, but I'm just off today, for some weird reason… I should watch more IchiHime scenes to get fired up again.

Please review! I want to hear your opinion on it, whether it is good, or bad. Thanks for reading!


	6. I hope you're happy together

**This is just a revised chapter. This is not a new chapter.**

A/N: I'm sorry too you all, but there will be **NO ICHIHIME CONFESSION SCENES IN THIS CHAPTER.** I'm going to leave you all in suspense, tee hee… I did have to laugh at lot at the reviews, saying how Ichigo is so stupid for not telling her that he loves her. Come on peoples, he just found out! Would YOU immediately confess your undying love for someone, right after they told you their feelings? I think not, lol.

I swear, this is the quickest I've ever updated a story, and with so many chapters as well!! (All within a short amount of time, I mean.)

From some of the ideas I want/have in my head, I can guess that there will be at least another 4 chapters for sure, in this story. Wow! 10 chapters for sure? That's amazing!

Anyway, enjoy the "Chappy"!

* * *

**Chapter 6**

_**Orihime's POV**_

"Orihime!" Tatsuki-chan popped up next to me. "How are you feeling?" She had a concerned look on my face. She also looked a bit tired. I shouldn't be surprised though; it _was_ almost 4 in the morning. Had she been up this entire time?

_I feel horrible. I wish I could just disappear._

"I-I'm fine. My head just hurts a bit, is all." I smiled at her, scratching my cheek with my index finger.

"I don't know how you could get a hangover from 4 sips of alcohol." A loud crash interrupted her sentence. "But you're more with it now, than you were before." I just nodded solemnly.

"So they're still here?" I pointed to the other room. She just gave me a heavy sigh.

"Yeah… A few of them left earlier, but most of the people are still here." My stomach growled in protest, and interrupted Tatsuki-chan again. She just laughed at me.

"It sounds like you're hungry. What do you want?"

"Hmm… I guess anything is fine, as long as there's red bean jelly and wasabi on it." I smiled at her. She just gave me a face of disgust, but still gave me an awkward smile.

"You and your foods. I'll never understand them…" She patted my back. "Let's go." I nodded in response, and we started our trek to the kitchen. She stopped momentarily though, and started to speak.  
"Oh, where's Ichigo?" I shuddered, feeling my heart drop. I felt like I just wanted to avoid both my feelings and Kurosaki-kun himself.

"O-Oh, I d-don't know…" I faked a shrug. "I'm not sure where he's at right now…"

_Even though I do know where he's at._

At that moment, Kurosaki-kun had appeared behind us, but walked around us, quite hastily I might add. I shook my head, trying to free myself from my absurd thoughts.

"Oi, Ichigo! Where have you been?" Tatsuki-chan yelled out to him. I averted my gaze to the ground. I didn't want to have to look at him now, but I still ended up glancing up to look at his face once in a while. "Hey, you listening to me?" She asked again.

_Well, I can probably assume our friendship is gone. Should I have maybe not said anything?_

"O-oh, sorry, I was just in deep thought right now… What's going on?" Tatsuki-chan pointed at me, causing me to jump slightly.

"Orihime's hungry, so I'm going to get her something to eat." We heard another loud crash, and quite a lot of "Uh oh's" from the other room.

"I'll check it out…" Tatsuki-chan sighed heavily again, and trudged her way to the other room, leaving me alone with Kurosaki-kun. Again.

I looked back down at the ground, and continued to walk to the kitchen. I'm sure he didn't want to talk to me, so no use in sitting around wasting time if that was the case…

I got to the kitchen and pulled open the refrigerator door. A small gust of cold blew at my face, causing me to shudder temporarily. I peeked inside to see what there was.

Nothing.

We had made and bought all that food earlier! Had it all been eaten? My stomach growled in protest again. I grabbed it in response, rubbing it slightly. After looking around the room again, I found that there were a few slices of watermelon left, from the one Abarai-kun brought earlier. I snagged a few slices and was about to leave the kitchen, when I heard voices.

"Ichigo, I wanted to talk to you about something…" I heard a female voice speak… I couldn't recognize it at first.

"U-um, is it important Rukia? Because I already have a lot of stuff to think about already." Oh… So it was a conversation between Kurosaki-kun and Kuchiki-san… I decided not to disturb them by walking past them, so I sat down by the wall with my watermelon, waiting for them to be done. And it's not like I'm eavesdropping, right? I can't help it if they're loud… Even though it probably would be better if I didn't listen, just because it's rude…

"It kind of is." Kuchiki-san huffed. "I've been meaning to talk to you about this for some time…" Her voice softened. I nibbled on my watermelon.

"Well, what is it?" His voice suddenly sounded agitated.

"Ichigo, I…" She paused, and I felt my heart jump. In a bad way though. I knew her tone, for I had used it so many times before. She was about to tell Kurosaki-kun about something so important, it would probably change everything.

"I love you…" She stuttered. I felt my eyelids droop again.

I knew this would happen.

So why did it hurt so much now?

I always thought Kurosaki-kun loved Kuchiki-san. I didn't always want to completely accept it, but it was probably true.

They were probably meant to be together anyway.

I felt my cheeks get wet for what it seemed like the bazillionth time within the last 24 hours. I'm so selfish. I only think what I want to think, and never consider other people's feelings. Especially Kurosaki-kun's…

"Rukia… I…" I sobbed quietly, because otherwise I would have been heard. I heard Kurosaki-kun talking, but I couldn't make out what he was saying. His voice had gotten low and quiet.

"O-oh, I see…" She stuttered again, sounding somewhat relieved. Kuchiki-san was an amazing, brave, and beautiful person. Of course he said yes to her.

"Orihime!" I heard my name being called. Tatsuki-chan popped her head into the kitchen. I just looked at her, still crying. I stood up, still sobbing. I held up my watermelon with a goofy, but awkwardly forced grin on my face.  
"I-I-I got my f-food." Her eyes became very saddened. "Th-There's no w-wasabi or red bean jelly left to put on it t-though…" I tried to speak through all my tears. "I-I'm sorry, I need to go…" I dropped my watermelon onto the floor, and started to leave the kitchen, where I ran into a flustered Kuchiki-san, and a confused, but nonchalant Kurosaki-kun. I stopped by both of them, wiping off my tears again. I still had that terrible smile on my face.

"I-I hope you and Kuchiki-san are happy." I congratulated Kurosaki-kun. Even if he knew how I felt, we were still friends. And if they liked each other, then I congratulate him. Friends do that. My smile suddenly turned into a small pout, and I left the hallway.

"Orihime!" Tatsuki-chan called after me. I ignored her, proceeding to head to the door. I felt like I needed to be alone, and being in my own house was not the best place to be for it.

"Orihime!" She called out again, but the ending got muffled as I closed the door behind me. I almost flew down the stairs, and started to walk in the snow filled streets, leaving me to be with my thoughts, feelings, and pain.

* * *

**_Ichigo's POV_**

"What the hell did you do?!" Tatsuki snapped at me. I just looked at her, and she glared at me. She was definitely pissed off at me. "What if Orihime doesn't come back?!" She shoved me against the wall. I sneered slightly at her, trying to make the situation into a joke.

"This is Inoue's house… I doubt she'll go away for good." She loosened her grip on my shirt. Rukia was just standing by, looking at her toes.

"Bastard…" Tatsuki mumbled, and left to go back to the loud room. Rukia followed slowly behind her. I slumped on the nearest wall.

All I could think about was Inoue.

I feel like I've hurt her so much, but I couldn't let myself be near her, without knowing my own feelings first. I didn't want to confuse her more.

Hell, I probably already did…

And then Rukia went and confessed to me, which only confused me even more. I told Rukia that I already had someone else on my mind, and that I needed to figure things out first, before I could giver her an honest answer. I hoped she understood.

And Inoue even congratulated me, so that means she must have assumed that I said I liked Rukia too… Did she hear the entire conversation?! I sighed heavily, pounding my fist into the wall. Why did I have to be such a big screw-up with everything tonight?

I stumbled back into the other room with the other people. Tatsuki was still glaring at me, and Rukia was back to talking with Renji. I looked around the room.

I had been in Inoue's room for a while, making she was okay while she was asleep. Since I hadn't been out of there for hours, I didn't know how bad it was getting in here.

It was terrible.

Everything seemed to be broken, or utterly destroyed. I felt my heart drop when I noticed her brother's shrine.

It was all destroyed and messed up as well.

"That's it, get your asses out of here!" I yelled at all of them. Tatsuki just raised an eyebrow, and Rukia and Renji stopped talking. I knew just as well as Inoue how important it is to have something to remember a departed loved one, so I could kind of guess how Inoue would react upon finding her brother's shrine all messed up.

"Awwww, why?" Matsumoto-san pouted her lips. "We're having a good time."

"You all are making a mess out of Inoue's place." I pointed at her brother's shrine. "You ungrateful bastards are all so inconsiderate!" They all looked at where I was pointing at, and they suddenly looked sad.

"W-we didn't know we did that…" Urahara mumbled.

"It's because you are all as drunk as hell. Now get out of here." I changed my point from the shrine, to the door.

"Hey, where's Orihime-chan?" Matsumoto-san asked. I felt my heart drop again, only this time, it felt even lower.

"She…" Tatsuki started to speak, since I felt like I couldn't. "Went on a walk… She probably won't be too happy to find the big mess you all made, when she gets back." They all looked very guilty, and started to get up and leave. Tatsuki was sitting on the couch, watching them all leave. She looked pretty pissed. Rukia stopped in front of me, before she left.

"I'll… See you back at the house." Her face was flushed. My mind was too full of other things to be worried about if I was blushing or not as well. I nodded to her in response. Eventually, all the guests left, most of them feeling terribly guilty, and Tatsuki and I were the only ones left.

"I should probably go too…" I spoke quietly to her. "Inoue probably won't want me around when I get back." She just scowled at me.

"I gave them an excuse to leave, so you owe me one." She pointed to the spot next to her. "You're staying her with me until she gets back." She paused. "And you going to tell me everything."

"Tell you everything? What is there to tell?" I lied to her. There really was a lot to tell, but I didn't really want to get her involved at all, even if it was the past.

"Don't give me that shit Ichigo, I know something happened." Her eyes were full of hate now. Not a good sign. "Orihime already told me that she was planning on telling me what had happened, so don't tell me nothing went down, because I know it did." She patted the seat next to her. "So you'd better get your ass over here and tell me everything. If you don't, I'm going to hurt you." I sighed. There was no way I outsmart Tatsuki. I started to tell her the story, from the very beginning.

* * *

**_Orihime's POV (About 6 hours later)_**

I stared at the sky, feeling so sorrowful.

_Why did Kurosaki-kun have to rescue me from Hueco Mundo? Goodness knows everyone else would be happier off without me. Tatsuki-chan would probably be a bit upset, but I'm sure she'd be fine after a while…_

"I suppose I should get back…" I whispered solemnly to myself. I had spent the last six hours just wandering around until my legs were tired, and then I have just been lying on the nearby playground at the park. Sure, it was winter, and I was cold during that time, and still am, but I felt like it froze everything, including my heart. I felt like I didn't have anymore pain, like my wound was gone. I knew that it would only be a matter of time until my heart thawed out again, and I'd be my scared, weak self again. It's not like I felt more confident right now, I just felt like I could care less about everything.

I sat up abruptly from my spot, feeling my head hurt a bit. That was another thing that had gotten better. My head didn't hurt as much as it did when I first woke up.

I looked around at my surroundings, and everything was covered in a light blanket of snow. The only things visible were my footprints from earlier.

_Of course I had to mess up something so delicate and gentle looking…_

I stepped down from the playground, and started walking home. It took about ten minutes until I was there. Surprisingly, it sounded oddly quiet on the other side of the door. I opened it slowly.

"I'm back…" I whispered to myself. If it was this quiet, it only meant that everyone was sleeping on my floor, or had already left. I peered into the other room. It was a mess… But I didn't only find the mess.

I found both Tatsuki-chan and Kurosaki-kun had fallen asleep on the couch. I smiled weakly at them. Tatsuki-chan probably stayed here of her own will, but forced Kurosaki-kun to stay here.

Forced him to stay here… So that means he probably didn't want to be here in the first place.

I jumped at the sound of the phone ringing. I rushed over to it, so it wouldn't wake up the two.

"H-hello?" I whispered into the receiver.

"Hello Orihime Inoue, this is your landlady, Momoko, and I have some bad news for you." What could be worse than the news I've already gotten in the last day?

"A-ah, what is it?" I asked back.

"You're going to need to move out, temporarily."

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A/N: Oh snap, poor Orihime. Nothing is going her way recently, is it? I promise, I'll try to give her good luck in the new chapter, or something…

Please review! I love to hear your thoughts on the chapter. Thanks for reading!

**This is just a revised chapter. This is not a new chapter.**


	7. Those words that make my heart fly

**This is just a revised chapter. This is not a new chapter.**

A/N: Aha, I just watched the new episode, the beach one, and I laughed so hard at it. I especially loved the watermelon IchiHime scene. You know: (SPOILER), Where Orihime gets attacked/grabbed by that watermelon monster's arm/tentacles, and is hung upside down. Of _course _she would yell for Ichigo, with a flushed, -cough- um… "Interesting" face, and he's all, "Inoue!!"(END SPOILER). That made me giggle. 3 I was sad that they didn't have the scene where he hells at Rangiku for teaching Orihime lewd stuff, lol. Oh well…

Also, I'm going to try to get the mood to be better here, and not so dark and gloomy. Sorry that it got so bad. –sweatdrop-

Enjoy the chappy!

* * *

Nothing's wrong with just letting the love flow free…

**Chapter 7**

_**Orihime's POV**_

"W-what? Why?" I worried.

"Don't worry, it's only temporary. There was a major plumbing problem in the house below yours, and so we figured that it'd just be best to redo everything, all at once."

"O-oh… I see…" I wiped my eyes. "How long do you think it'll take?" I asked her.

"Hmmm… Well, we figure each place's plumbing configuration is really old, so it might take about 5-7 days per place?" That's a long time! She continued, "Of course, since there are individual units, meaning the houses aren't all connected to each other, you'd just have to worry about your place and the one below you."

"So… 2 weeks at most?" I worried. I don't know where I'd be able to go for a few weeks. I could maybe stay with Tatsuki-chan for a few days… No, I wouldn't want to burden Tatsuki-chan. I shook my head at the thought.

"Yup… So if you get your important stuff out within 24 hours, that'd be great. You can leave any bulky furniture that you own, in your place." I could tell she was smiling over the phone.

"O-okay… Thank you Momoko-san…" I whispered into the phone.

"Talk to you later Inoue-san. And sorry again for joking around like that."

"N-no, it's fine…" I mumbled back.

_It's not fine. I was scared I had no where to live for the next two weeks!_

"Bye Inoue-san." I just nodded into the phone and hung up. I turned back to Tatsuki-chan, who was staring at me looking bewildered. Kurosaki-kun was awake now too, but he just stared out the window.

"What was that about now?" she asked. I sat down on the floor, leaning against the wall.

"My landlady…" I sighed heavily, and so did Tatsuki-chan, only hers sounded like a sigh of relief. "But…" I pulled my hair out of the bun, letting it fall down my shoulders.

"But?" Tatsuki-chan cut in.

"I have to leave for a few weeks." I fiddled around with my fingers. "They need to fix some stuff in the units, and I can't be here when they do." I stared at the ceiling, sighing again.

"Where are you going to go?" She asked I saw Kurosaki-kun glance over at me, in the corner of my eye. "I mean, you're always welcome at my place."

"N-no, I don't want to burden you Tatsuki-chan, you've already helped with a lot." I waved my hands, rejecting her offer.

"You could stay at my place for a while." Kurosaki-kun spoke calmly. "We don't always have patients in the clinic portion of the house, so you can stay in one of those rooms." I felt my face heat up a bit.

"That's actual sort of a good idea, Ichigo. Orihime, you should take him up on that."

"Of course it's a good idea. If we have the room, why wouldn't I say that we didn't?" Kurosaki-kun fumed at her. Then he looked at me, causing me to jump slightly. His eyes… His look seemed softer all of a sudden, like he wasn't confused or something. "So what do you think Inoue?"

Part of me wanted to be close to Kurosaki-kun, even if it was for only a few weeks. But then again, I knew I shouldn't be so selfish, and it might bother Kuchiki-san, if I'm at his house.

"Orihime says yes." Tatsuki-chan interrupted my thinking.

"W-what?" I looked at her, with my face feeling really hot. Kurosaki-kun just looked at both of us, looking very baffled.

"She didn't say anything…" He pointed out.

_Yes, thank you Kurosaki-kun!_

"But she's thinking it." Tatsuki-chan just grinned. "I can read her like an open book, and she says yes to staying at your place for a few weeks."

_No Tatsuki-chan, I'll only get more embarrassed!_

"Are you sure Inoue?" He looked back at me, which caused my face to only get hotter.

"U-u-um, w-well… I-if it's o-okay with your f-family…" I waved my hands maniacally.

"It's fine," She spoke, scratching the back of his head. "Karin and Yuzu would probably love having you there, and my dad…" His face turned into a scowl. "Never mind my dad…" Tatsuki-chan just laughed.

"So when do you need to be out of your apartment?" Tatsuki-chan asked, still chuckling.

"Um…" I glanced around the room. "24 hours." I noticed my brother's shrine was all messy. I felt my heart drop.

"So… We need to clean up in here, and get together your stuff, right?" She continued. I got up from my spot, and walked over to it.

"Hm? Oh… Yeah…" I kneeled down in front of the shrine. I knew the people here were friends, but this really made me sad… I mentally apologized to my brother.

"I'm sorry Inoue…" I heard Kurosaki-kun speak. I turned back around to look at him. "I wasn't able to stop them from making of a mess of your brother's shrine." The tension in the air felt heavy. I started waving my hands again.

"I-it's fine. I'll fix it up, and it'll be as good as new." He just looked at me like he didn't believe me. He stood up from his spot.

"I think I'm going to head home and let my family know that you're coming." He ran his hand though his hair. "Just come over whenever you're finished."

"O-okay…" I felt my face heat up again. I changed my glance to the floor.

"Oi, Ichigo, you're just getting out of cleaning." Tatsuki-chan complained. He waved his hand as a response, as he was heading out the door. We both heard the click of the door closing after he left. I sighed heavily.

"Geez Tatsuki-chan, way to embarrass me." I patted my cheeks, hoping my red face would go away. She just laughed.

"It's so fun to mess with you a bit though." She patted my head and stood up. "We should probably start cleaning, right?" I smiled at her and nodded.

_Tatsuki-chan always has an air about her that makes me feel better. More calm and relaxed._

I got a garbage bag from the kitchen, and we started picking up trash, and throwing it into the bag. She started to speak.

"So…" She paused before continuing. "Ichigo told me everything." My eyes went big.  
"E-everything?" She nodded in response.

"He told me about Soul Reapers, Soul Society, and even about that place called Hueco Mundo." She laughed to herself. I shuddered, continuing to clean. "It took quite a while to tell me, but it took even longer for me to comprehend it."

"I'm… Sorry Tatsuki-chan… I really should have told you earlier." She just shook her head, smiling at me.

"After hearing what happened to you, it makes me even happier that you're back here, safe and sound." I smiled as a response, but she just grinned even wider. "Plus he told me a few other interesting tidbits."

"Other tidbits?…" I questioned. "Like…?"

"I can't say. You'd be ecstatic though." I felt my face heat up a bit. What could it possibly be? I'd for sure be happy enough to hear if he didn't like Kuchiki-san. I know that's a terrible thing of me to say, but I can't help but feel like that. I still loved Kurosaki-kun, and I couldn't help it. I just didn't want to cause him more burden or pain.

"D-did he say anything about Kuchiki-san at all?" I asked, trying to see if I could pry a little information out of her. He put her index finger on her chin, trying to recall.

"Hm… Anything about her, you ask?" She paused, putting a huge smile on her face. "Ichigo said she confessed to him." I felt my stomach drop. I think I was going to be sick.

"But…" She continued. I looked at her confused.

"But?"

"I really know what's going on." She picked up the last piece of garbage. I tied a knot on the bag and placed it down against the wall. Tatsuki-chan had started to walk to my room and I followed her. I assumed she wanted to help me pack for staying at Kurosaki-kun's place.

"What's really going on?" I asked curiously. She wiggled her eyebrows.

"You really want to know?" I nodded in response. "I think Rukia was planning on telling you later anyway, but it won't be much harm if I told you now." I just stared at her, awaiting her response. She continued her story.

"So you know how she confessed to Ichigo?" I felt a twinge in my heart.

"U-unfortunately, yes…" I replied sadly. Tatsuki-chan just patted my shoulder.

"It was a trick." My eyes went big.

"A what?!" I exclaimed.

"A trick," She said. "It didn't help that she was partially drunk, but she wanted to know who Ichigo liked. She was saying that that she couldn't just ask him straight out, because she'd never get an answer. I, of course, wanted to know as well, so we thought of a plan to ask him, in a way that he would have no other way to respond." She winked at me, pulling out my suitcases from the corner of my room.

"T-that's…" I paused.

"Yes?" Tatsuki-chan just grinned.

"That's terribly mean!" I exclaimed. My eyes were starting to feel wet again. "To fool Kurosaki-kun like that." I started to wipe them away.

"You don't want to know what he said?" I shook my head.

"I assumed he told her the same thing…" I bit my lip, pulling clothes out of my drawers, and put them into the suitcase.

"I told you. It was a trick. She was lying, she doesn't actually like him." I looked at her. She pouted her lips and scrunched her eyebrows together, just like Kurosaki-kun. "He said, '_I'm sorry, I have someone else on my mind right now.' _Isn't that great?"

"Tatsuki-chan! Did you ever think that it could be someone else?" I exclaimed, but suddenly covered my lips. An outburst like that is definitely not like me. "Sorry…" I mumbled.

_Secretly, I hope that 'someone else' is me…_

I looked up at her, my face feeling intensely hot.

"C-can you say that one more time?" She just smiled, and made his face again, repeating those words that made my heart flutter.

"_I'm sorry, I have someone else on my mind right now…"_

* * *

A/N: Yay-ness, this chapter is over. Originally all my chapters were going to be about 3,000 words or so, but in order for me to get them out quicker, the words are going to be less. Sorry!

Please review! Thanks for reading!

**This is just a revised chapter. This is not a new chapter.**


	8. Physical Signs

A/N: I revised my previous chapters…

Why?

Because I couldn't keep writing if I didn't. This sounds corny, but my soul was being nagged at, for doing something so insanely stupid. I'm not going to lie: I probably would have broke out into tears if I even tried writing this chapter, without fixing my previously shitty screw ups first. They were that bad. Please bear with my horrendous behavior, and my child-like mind. ****. _

Enjoy the chapter…

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**Chapter 8**

_**Ichigo's POV**_

"Oooooh, Orihime-chan is welcome to stay here, of course!" Dad exclaimed. I punched him in the face, scowling. He was left lying on the floor. Of course I expected this kind of reaction from him. It just suddenly seemed different now since I was experiencing it, instead of imagining it.

"Don't say her name like you know her!!" He just responded by kicking my shins, as I was unguarded, which caused me to fall to the floor in pain. "What the hell was that for?!" Yuzu bounced her way into the room as I held my shin in pain.

"When Orihime-neechan is going to be here?" She clapped excitedly, with a big grin on her face. "I'm so excited! I was starting to feel lonely without Rukia-neechan."

"Rukia hasn't even left yet." I mumbled in pain to her. Karin was suddenly standing next to her, with her hands on her hips.

"You know Yuzu always feels sad about people leaving, even if it's days, no, weeks before hand." Karin shrugged, then continued speaking. "When is she going to be here anyway? You told us about her an hour ago, but she still isn't here." I scowled at her, standing back up after I recovered from my pain.

"I told her to come over whenever she's packed her stuff." My dad stood back up hastily as well and ran over to the poster of mom that hung on the wall.

"Oh my dear Masaki! We're going to have yet another daughter!!" He stroked the poster, and I hit him again. Rukia came down the stairs, and leaned against the wall. She seemed interested in the commotion.

"You'd better not have that kind of attitude around Inoue! You'll scare her!" I yelled at him. Karin just grinned, with curious eyes.

"Why does it matter to you so much how he acts towards her?" She asked with an interested tone in her voice. My face suddenly got hotter.

"I-Inoue's a good friend, like Tatsuki or Chad, and I wouldn't want to force his attitude on _any_ of them!" I yelled back at her, but her eyes said that she didn't believe that was the reason.

_Actually, I think Inoue's more than a good friend now… But how much, I don't know._

_**You have the hots for her, I told you. Just accept it, you'll feel much better.**_

_Shut up. _I quickly suppressed my hollow.

I noticed Rukia was watching everything that was happening, but didn't say anything. As soon as she noticed I was looking at her, her face turned slightly red and she looked away.

"Right… I'm sure that's the reason, Ichi-nii." She replied nonchalantly. I covered my face with my hand, sighing heavily, when I heard dad calling me. I looked over at him, and he was motioning me to come over to his side. Still scowling, I trudged over to his side, where he threw his arm over my shoulder.

"Now son…" He started, "I need to say this before she gets here, because it's important." He looked very serious. Maybe he actually is very serious about this. I leaned in closer to hear what he was going to say.

"Now I know Orihime-chan is beautiful, but you need to promise me that there won't be any risky behavior going on in my household." My jaw dropped and my face heated up even more. He just smiled at me. "I don't want grandkids quite yet." I punched him again, now super embarrassed.

"Why the hell do you even think like that!? I told you, Inoue's a friend, **a friend!!**" I exclaimed at him. Yes, I knew Inoue was beautiful, but why the hell would I think such crude thoughts about her?! Well, I've already had _certain_ thoughts about her, unfortunately, but nothing as awkward as what he was insinuating.

The doorbell rang to cut off my thoughts. Yuzu ran over to the door, and I followed behind her, covering my face. Damn, my dad was annoying as hell.

Yuzu opened the door and Inoue was waiting on the other side. "Welcome Orihime-neechan!" She exclaimed happily. Inoue just smiled back at Yuzu

"Hello Yuzu-chan." She looked at me, her smile going away. "Kurosaki-kun…" I'm sure my face was still really red. That must have looked really stupid.

"Please, come on in." Yuzu gestured to come in. Inoue formed her mouth into her cute 'O' face, and picked up her suitcases.

"Inoue, let me help you with those." I started towards her, offering to help. She just shook her head, pulling them closer to her body.

"N-no, it's quite all right. I can get it myself." She struggled to carry all of them. Rukia suddenly came to her side, and grabbed a few suitcases away from her. "Kuchiki-san!" Inoue exclaimed, putting on a worried face.

"Which room?" Rukia asked me, but didn't look directly at me. I pointed to the hall.

"Um, third one on the right." I responded. She nodded, looking at Inoue.

"Let's go Inoue. I'll help you carry these." Inoue just pouted her lips ever so slightly.

"Ah, o-okay…" Why didn't she want me to help her?

"_She doesn't want to keep loving you if she's only going to burden you. At all." _I remembered what Tatsuki had said early this morning, when we were waiting for Inoue to get back. Does that mean even helping her with her suitcases is considered a burden on me? Yuzu sniffed loudly, which interrupted my thinking. I looked down at her and she was bawling.

"O-oi, what's wrong?" I stuttered, trying to think of how I could calm her down.

"Rukia-neechan is leaving," She sobbed. That was right. Now that everything was over, Rukia was going back to Soul Society. She was being promoted to one of the empty captain positions, for her valiant efforts in Hueco Mundo, and she had taken the job. I sighed heavily. Personally, I thought it was good for her, but I knew she'd be missed. Heck, I knew I'd probably miss her a bit as well. We _are _friends. That brought my mind back to her confession earlier this morning too. What was this? Why do I keep thinking about embarrassing stuff? Or rather, why does all this embarrassing stuff happen to me?

"You'll see Rukia again someday." I patted her head, trying to be somewhat comforting. She sniffed again, and nodded her head slowly.

We heard a loud, "Eeeehhhh?!" come from the other room, what sounded like Inoue, and a few minutes they came out from her temporary room, both faces red. We all just stared a them, as to what brought about Inoue's loud voice.

"W-what happened?" I asked. Honestly, there was a part of me that didn't want me to know.

"N-nothing happened, K-kurosaki-kun." Inoue waved her arms in front of her face. Rukia nudged her in the stomach, giving her the "quit making a scene" eyes.

"Ah, I should make lunch!" Yuzu spoke. Inoue got excited and smiled at Yuzu.

"Can I help?" Ugh, no. Please don't let her into the kitchen! Rukia had the same look of fear on her face as well. Yuzu smiled and nodded.

"Sure!" She responded happily. "Let's go." Inoue smiled brightly and hopped over to Yuzu's side. They immediately started talking about food, and disappeared into the kitchen. Dad and Karin went to the table to wait for the food.

"So what really happened?" I asked Rukia, looking over at her.

"I told her I was leaving…" Her voice got quiet.

"You didn't tell her before?" I asked in a louder voice than before. I'd think that Rukia would have told everyone at the same time. With the exception of us in this household, since we were the ones who let her stay here.

"Nope… She was too busy with her own problems." She crossed her arms, walking over to my side. "She seems kind of better now though."

"And she told you about her problems?" I asked sarcastically. "You two aren't exactly best friends." She just scowled at me, her face slightly pink.

"Boy you are dense." She huffed. "They're pretty obvious." She uncrossed her arms and put them on her hips. "Besides the physical signs, I mean."

"Physical signs?"

"What, you can't tell me that you didn't notice her sudden weight loss, and bags under her eyes. Everyone knows that's not normal for her." She paused. "I'm going into the dining room." Why did she just suddenly change the subject? She started to leave the room.

I followed after her, mentally thanking her for how much she's done for me.

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A/N: Sorry, short chapter. **Feels bad about how short it is**

I know most of you are IchiHime fans, and I know. Most of this wasn't IchiHime. But believe me when I say I'm not promoting Ichigo/Rukia in this chapter. I just wanted… Hell, I don't know what I wanted. _ Thanks for reading. Please review, and no flaming.


	9. Pervert

A/N: Thank you so much for all the reviews. I love you all so much, lol. Thanks for reading and reviewing. ^-^ Just because you all are so awesome, here's a longer-than-normal-chapter. :D Please enjoy.

Also, there will be brief POV changes to Ichigo every once in a while. You'll know what I mean when you see it, but it's just necessary to change it over temporarily, to get the point that I want to get to.

Also, also, please excuse the sudden friendship thingy between Rukia and Orihime. Orihime is my favorite character, and Rukia isn't exactly my favorite, but I can't deny it anymore. I love the close friend-y scenes between Orihime and Rukia. It's a good friendship. :D Anywhoooo.

Enjoy the chappy!

_**Bolded, Italic font is Hollow Ichigo. **_

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**Chapter 9**

**_Orihime's POV_**

"I'm so glad you're staying over here for a while!" Yuzu-chan exclaimed as I stood next to her. We were making sandwiches, and Yuzu-chan only allowed me to make sandwiches with the food that was out. So that meant no new recipes. It was unfortunate, but this was their house, and I needed to follow the rules. I smiled at her.

"Thank you very much for letting me stay here." I smiled back at her. Inside, I felt really nervous about what was going to happen. I was going to be in the same household as Kurosaki-kun. The thought made my face turn red.

"It's perfectly alright," She spoke happily. "Plus I'm sure Ichi-nii will be even more excited about you being here too, since you'll be in the same place and all." Kurosaki-kun is happy about me being here? "You know, we didn't get to see him that much earlier this week." I formed my mouth into an 'O' shape.

"Oh? Why was that?" I asked her, finishing a sandwich and putting it on a plate. She turned to me and smiled.

"Ichi-nii said you went on a vacation and got kinda hurt. So for… 3 days I think, he said he would go check on you, to make sure you were okay." My heart flipped. Earlier this week? For 3 days? It sounded like it was the time that I was unconscious at Urahara-san's shop. My face felt even hotter now. I would have never thought Kurosaki-kun would have come to see me when I was out of it after Hueco Mundo.

"H-how did you manage to get the information out of him?" I asked her, trying to sound like it was a joke. I was serious about the question, but it's rude to ask about something like that, with such a serious attitude… She put one of her sandwiches on the plate.

"Surprisingly, he's been very chatty lately." She paused, putting her finger on her chin. "Well, maybe chatty isn't the best word. More like honest and open. If we asked him a question, he'd answer it with the truth." She smiled at me. "And trust me, we know when he's telling the truth versus lying. It's different than the way Ichi-nii used to be, but he gives off a more mature attitude now." She handed me one of the plates with the sandwiches. "Ichi-nii will always be Ichi-nii, and that's what's important, right?" I softened my gaze at her. That's right… Kurosaki-kun will always be the same. He'll always be rough around the edges, but he's a kind, caring person on the inside. I smiled back at her.

"Thank you." She just tilted her head, looking confused.

"For what?" She questioned.

"Just thank you for being Yuzu-chan." I grinned at her, patting her head with my free hand. She juts beamed back at me, and made her way into the dining room, where I heard Kurosaki-san exclaim.

"It's about time lunch is ready!"

"It didn't take more than 10 minutes, goat-chin." Karin-chan complained at him.

"Sorry to make you wait, Dad." Yuzu-chan apologized to her father.

Kurosaki-kun's family was all so kind. They all had different personalities, but that's what made them all so special. It kind of made me wish I had a family like this… Or at least a family at all.

"Where's Inoue?" I heard Kuchiki-san say my name from the dining room. I realized I was still standing in the kitchen with a plate full of sandwiches. I rushed into the other room, putting on a smile. I didn't know what it was, but my smile didn't feel normal. I shook it off.

"Ah, I'm sorry, I just got caught up thinking." I laughed awkwardly, putting the second plate on the table. Kurosaki-kun gave me a rare, but warm smile, which made my heart flutter. Surely he meant nothing special with his smile… Right?

"Daydreaming again, Inoue?" He rested his head in his hand. I felt my face get even hotter. I laughed awkwardly in response, and took a seat next to Kuchiki-san, who was already nibbling on her sandwich. I looked at her, and she looked at me, just giving me a weak smile. It was silent for a few minutes, as everyone was eating, but suddenly, Kurosaki-san broke the silence.

"So who wants to have a family game night?!" He exclaimed, obviously very excited about his idea. I shrugged slightly, looking back at Kuchiki-san.

"I-I'm sorry, Kuchiki-san and I are going to go out for a bit tonight." Everyone else tilted their heads in confusion, just as Yuzu-chan did earlier. "U-Um, Kuchiki-san and I are going to-" I got cut short as Kuchiki-san nudged my side under the table. I grabbed it in pain, as it hurt a bit. Kurosaki-kun just looked worriedly at me from the other side of the table. I immediately let go. I didn't want to have him worrying about me. I continued,

"Have some female bonding time?" She nudged me again, and I winced in pain.

"We won't be long, just for an hour or so." I looked over at Kuchiki-san again, and she nodded her head in acceptance to my explanation. Was it that bad to tell them where we were going?

"Where are you two going?" Yuzu-chan wondered. Kuchiki-san just looked at me with eyes that clearly said, 'No.'

"U-Um, secret…" I mumbled. Kurosaki-kun's face looked even more worried. I flailed my hands in the air. "I-I-It's fine. We won't get hurt, and we won't be out that long." His eyes told me that he didn't seem to believe my explanation.

"I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but if it's going to be tonight, I'm going to want to need to know where you're going. Just because it's at night, there can be creeps and such." Kurosaki-san spoke quietly as he ate his sandwich

"You're a creep…" Kurosaki-kun mumbled under his breath.

Kurosaki-san ignored Kurosaki-kun's remark and continued, "Just in case I can know where you're going, if your family calls to know where you are." I felt a sharp pain in my heart, and I tried my best to not show it on my face.

"I-I don't have any family, really… Just far away relatives." I faked a laugh, trying to hold back some tears. "R-Remember Sora Inoue from a few years ago? H-he was my brother." I put on a smile, even though it hurt immensely to do so. "H-He was the only family I-I had left." I took a big bite from my sandwich to try to distract myself. I just heard a quiet, "Oh, right…" from Kurosaki-san, "I remember…" Kuchiki-san suddenly spoke up.

"We're going to the public bath house." She said, trying to change the subject. Her face appeared to be slightly red as well. "Inoue said it was something amazing that I needed to experience before I left." She took a small bite out of her sandwich as well. I nodded, swallowing my bite of sandwich.  
"That's not such a big deal…" Karin-chan responded. I agreed with her, thinking it wasn't a big deal as well. Apparently it was to Kuchiki-san though, even though I didn't know the reason why.

"T-there's one by my apartment that's really nice. I go there once in a while." I looked over at Kuchiki-san, pouting a bit. I started to feel bad again. "It was on short notice though… Since I just found out that she's leaving…" She just looked at me, smiling slightly. "Sorry…" I whispered to her. The atmosphere suddenly felt really awkward.

"Well, if that's the case, I'm sending Ichigo along with you." Kurosaki-san spoke to us.

"W-what!!?!" Kurosaki-kun suddenly exclaimed, standing up from his seat. "W-why?!"

"Don't tell me you didn't remember all those happenings with those perverts that happened a few weeks ago, around that area." Karin-chan just replied to him nonchalantly.

_Kurosaki-kun wasn't here to hear about that though… Neither was I, I suppose… We were in Hueco Mundo at the time. _I shuddered slightly from remembering that horrid place.

"O-Oh, right." He mumbled, lying. His face was red and I wondered why though.

"So I'm sending you along to protect them." Kurosaki-san smiled. Kurosaki-kun's face only got redder.

"Orihime-neechan, can we come too?" Yuzu-chan asked, pointing to herself and Karin-chan. I looked over at Kuchiki-san, and she just nodded slightly.

"A-Ah, sure. The more the merrier, right?" I faked another laugh. Karin-chan just shrugged. She seemed indifferent about it.

"Dad, are you coming along too?" Yuzu-chan asked him as well. Kurosaki-kun just jumped up from his seat again.

"No way, that pervert is not coming along!" He pointed fiercely at his father. Was Kurosaki-san really a pervert? He just seemed really funny to me.

"Awww, Ichigo, don't call daddy a pervert!!" Kurosaki-san whined, punching Kurosaki-kun in the side. He fell over in pain, which caused me to immediately start worrying about him. I had to stay where I was at though. I couldn't let my self be near him, since I'd only cause him more burden and pain. Kurosaki-san just continued, "I have to stay here anyway, just in case something happens, I need to be here to hold down the fort." He put on a big grin and gave us the thumbs up. Kurosaki-kun just sunk back down into his chair, breathing what seemed to be a sigh of relief. I just forced another laugh, beginning to stand up.

"I-I'll clean up." I stuttered, picking up everyone's plates.

"I'll help." Kuchiki-san mumbled to me, standing up as well. I don't know what caused it or why, but it almost seemed like Kuchiki-san and I were closer than ever.

* * *

**_Ichigo's POV (Later that evening)_**

"Oi, Karin, Yuzu, are you ready to go?" I yelled to them. Karin walked over to my side, with Yuzu jumping along side her.

"Yup! I'm so excited!!" Yuzu spoke happily. "Oh, Where's Ruika-neechan and Orihime-neechan? I know I didn't see them in our room." Her tone changing, but her voice was still plenty loud. That's right, where were they? We had planned on leaving at 7, and it was already 7:15.

"I'll get them." Karin spoke, starting to head towards the hall, towards the Inoue's temporary room, but stopped to see that they were already coming out from her room.

"Ehehe, sorry, Kuchiki-san and I got caught up talking." Inoue apologized, fiddling around with the strap on the bag she was bringing along. "Should we go?" She pointed to the door. I just nodded and both Inoue and Rukia walked together to the door, still talking.

Since when did they get to be so close? And how could they have gotten caught up talking? Rukia was practically silent all day? Or maybe it was because she was around me… I shook off my thoughts and followed behind them. Dad called me over before I left though.

"Ichigo, take care of your sisters," He spoke calmly, "And…" I raised my eyebrows.

"And?" I asked. He just patted me on the back.

"And don't think about sneaking a peek. Like I said, I know Orihime-chan is beautiful, but- OOOPFF" I cut him short by punching him in the stomach. He immediately dropped to the ground.

"I'm not like you, you nasty pervert!!" I yelled at him. My face felt like it was on fire. "I'm leaving," I huffed, and hastily made my exit out the door. Karin and Yuzu were waiting for me outside.

"Is Dad being weird again?" Yuzu asked me, starting to walk. Karin just snorted.

"When is he not weird?" She put her hands in her pockets and walked along with Yuzu. I looked ahead and Inoue and Rukia weren't too far ahead of us.

"Uh, Inoue is leading the way, right?" I asked. If she was just walking aimlessly, that was bad. Karin and Yuzu just shrugged, causing me to sigh heavily.

I watched Rukia and Inoue talk to each other as we were walking. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I could see their actions. Rukia said something to Inoue, which caused her to turn bright red. Rukia smiled and laughed a bit, which caused Inoue to smile too.

It was good to see that Rukia wasn't so sullen all the time. I would have preferred if it was just around me, and not to everyone. I did feel kind of bad about how I responded to her confession earlier. I wanted to be honest with her, and I'm sure that's how she would have wanted it to be anyway.

"We're here!" Inoue exclaimed, interrupting my thinking. I looked up, and she was right. Boy, I must have been in deep thought to not realize how long it took to get here. Yuzu ran up to Inoue's side, grabbing her hand. I felt a bit jealous of her, being able to hold her hand so easily like that.

Wait…

_Jealous?_

_**You want to hold her hand too.**_

_N-Not particularly…_

_**And you want to do other certain things to her. I should know, I'm part of your mind too.**_

_N-no, I don't know what you're talking about._

_**I know I wouldn't mind. She has such a nice rack; I'd love to bury my-**_

Inoue cut my battle with my hollow short, yet again.

"Kurosaki-kun?" She looked up at me with big, gray eyes. I had a sudden urge to grab her and kiss her again, but I forced myself not to do anything. I just heard my hollow laugh at me again.

"Ichi-nii, let's go inside!" Yuzu exclaimed, pointing to the entrance. I just nodded remembering the recent conversation with my hollow. I felt my face heat up, and blood rush… Somewhere.

We all went into the building, only to be greeted by an older woman and man. They appeared to be a couple.

"Oh, Orihime-chan, it's so good to see you!" The older woman smiled gently at Inoue. "We haven't seen you for so long, we were beginning to worry that you wouldn't show up anymore." Inoue just laughed, which seemed kind of forced.

"Aha, y-yeah, I kind of took a little… Trip. I'm back now." The older man pointed to us.

"Friends of yours?" He asked in a low voice. She nodded, smiling.

"This is Rukia Kuchiki-san," She pointed to Rukia. "And these are Karin, Yuzu, and Ichigo Kurosaki." She pointed to us as well. Even though she was just giving an introduction, I kind of like the way she said my name. It sounded so different when it came from her.

"Kurosaki-kun then, I presume?' His voice bellowed out again. I just nodded awkwardly. What point were they trying to make? The old woman just nudged Inoue's side, laughing softly. Inoue's face just turned red.

"H-Hitomi-san…" Inoue stuttered quietly. The older man just laughed.

"Well, since you're friends of Orihime-chan, we'll let you have this session on the house." He smiled. "Of course, you do know that this is a separated bath, right?" He eyes me suspiciously. Why was he looking at only me like that?

"O-Of course they know, Arata-san." She motioned to us to follow her. "Thank you very much." She smiled to the couple, bowing slightly. Yuzu and Rukia followed Inoue, with Yuzu still holding her hand. Karin and I followed slowly behind them, until we hit a wall with two posters with arrows. One pointed left, for the women's bath, and one pointed right for the men's bath.

"We'll meet back out here in an hour maybe?" Rukia suggested. I shrugged. It didn't matter to me either way.

"Sounds great!" Yuzu exclaimed.

"Yuzu, you'll be out with the rest of us." Karin explained to Yuzu. "It's only Ichi-nii we need to worry about." Worry about me? For what?!

_**You're being paranoid…**_

"L-let's go!" Inoue grabbed Yuzu's hand, and dragged her into the women's side. Karin just followed, which left me with Rukia. She spoke quietly.

"Don't be a pervert." And with that she left. I was left there standing baffled. Why did everyone think I was a pervert?!

_**Because you're only thinking of Orihime in a bad, naughty way.**_ My hollow cackled. I tried to ignore him and went into the men's side. As I went in, the interior seemed to get more and more extravagant. Not in a bad way though, it just went from a normal bathhouse entrance, to looking like we were at Hot Springs, not a bathhouse. There was no one else in the locker area, which made me wonder if I was the only one here on this side.

I shrugged it off and started to remove my clothes, folding them, and putting them into a locker. It was only a matter of minutes until I was into the actual bathhouse portion of the building, and the interior was amazing. No wonder Inoue came here all the time. I slowly got into the water, and let myself relax. I was the only guy in here, with the exception of the old man in the front. I had to admit the silence was nice.

That was, until I heard familiar voices. I sat up straighter, to see if I could hear where they were coming from.  
There wasn't anyone else coming in from the guy's side, but I could suddenly hear the voices of Yuzu, Inoue, and Rukia, coming from the other side of the wall. It wasn't very soundproof. In fact, I could hear them very, very clearly.

I wondered if they knew I could hear them.

Well, it's not my fault if they did. It was their fault for talking so loud, right?

All I could do was listen to their entire conversation.

* * *

**_Orihime's POV_**

"Waaah, this place is so cool!" Yuzu-chan said happily. I smiled at her.

"I'm glad you like it." I looked over at Rukia, who was starry-eyed as well.

"No wonder you go here, this place is amazing." She smiled at me. "We have bathhouses in Soul Society too, but it's nothing like this." I wrapped the towel around my body a bit tighter, so it wouldn't fall off or anything. Karin-chan and Yuzu-chan were already in the bath, and they looked plenty happy.

"We should probably get in as well," Rukia spoke again. I nodded as response. We both got in to a spot relatively close to a big wall, in which we leaned back against it, letting our heads rest. Yuzu-chan and Karin-chan had made their way over to us from where they were originally. Yuzu-chan was beaming at us, and Karin-chan even had a little smile on her face.

"I have to admit, this place is pretty nice." Karin-chan said. "I'll have to remember to come here again." I nodded.

"It is a good place. The owners are very nice too, I like them a lot." I smiled at her.

"How do you know the owners?" Kuchiki-san asked me, letting herself relax even more.

"Ah, they're Tatsuki-chan's relatives… They actually helped me out a lot too when my brother passed away." Yuzu-chan's happy face suddenly turned sad.

"I-I'm sorry…" I shook my head at her, waving my hands frantically, trying to comfort her.

"N-no, it's fine. I'm all fin-" I stopped speaking, as my towel was starting to slip off. "Ah, no!" I exclaimed. Karin-chan just laughed.

"What are you laughing for? She wouldn't laugh at you if your towel fell off." Yuzu-chan complained. I fixed my towel.

"I-I-It's quite alright Yuzu-chan. Some of the towels here are just a bit small." Karin-chan just snorted, in response.

"Orihime-chan, I don't think it's the towels are too small, I think something else is too big." I felt my face heat up immensely. Yuzu-chan pouted her lips at her remark, and Kuchiki-san just laughed. I smiled awkwardly.

"T-think what you want." I stuttered, still feeling embarrassed. Yuzu-chan suddenly got excited again.

"Karin, Karin, let's go over there!!" She pointed to the corner with the small waterfall. Yes, this place even had a waterfall. The owners had made it look like a waterfall, even though it was just its way of re-cycling the water around. Karin-chan and Yuzu-chan left, leaving Kuchiki-san and I alone again.

"Kuchiki-san… Thanks for letting me take you here." I thanked her quietly. "And thanks for letting me talk to you more." I looked at her with a soft tone in my voice. "We never seemed to have the chance to get each other before, but I'm glad I got to know you better before you leave." She gave me a crooked smile. "Since I'm not sure when I'll be able to see you again."

"Rukia." She spoke.

"Huh?" I asked her.

"Call me Rukia." My face broke out into a huge smile.

"Rukia-chan, please call me Orihime." She just continued to smile. It was a few minutes had passed, until she started to speak again.

"In- Orihime… Can I ask you another question?" She asked me, staring at the ceiling. We had been conversing a lot within the last 12 hours, and have been asking questions as well, so another one didn't seem like that big of a deal.

"Oh, yeah, sure." I responded to her.

"When you love someone… What do you feel?" She asked nonchalantly. I felt my face heat up again.

"W-why are you asking me?" I stuttered. She just looked at me with eyes that said, 'You're kidding, right?'

"It's really obvious Orihime." She chuckled half-heartedly. I looked at her seriously. Was it really that obvious? "But I'm just curious overall."

"A-ah… I see…" I paused. "U-um, to answer your question," I fiddled around with my fingers in the water. "For me, I feel like I could give everything for… _Said person_." Rukia-chan laughed at the temporary name I gave Kurosaki-kun. "Most of the time, my heart beats faster when I'm around him or even when his name is mentioned." I looked over at Rukia-chan. Her face was red, and she seemed to be agreeing with me.

"But…" I spoke, but paused again.

"But?" She questioned.

"It could just be me, but I feel like that I'm only a burden him. That I can only cause him pain and hurt. And so I love him so much, that I have to try to let him go, so he won't be hurt anymore." Her eyes showed what seemed like a revelation.

"Anything else?" She whispered, almost inaudibly. I nodded at her, my gaze softening.

"I would give my life for him…" I spoke slowly.

_I almost did anyway, with the Hōgyoku…_

She just looked at me, like everything I had said made so much sense. She responded by bursting out into laughter.

"W-was I that serious?" I asked her worriedly. I normally wasn't super serious, so she would have thought that this was some sort of joke on my part.

"No, no, it's not you." She wiped her eyes, still laughing a bit. "I'm just thinking about what you said, is all." I nodded in response. I didn't want to poke into her life more than I already had, by wondering what exactly she was thinking. Karin-chan and Yuzu-chan had looked over to us to see what all the commotion was about. Rukia-chan just waved them off, as to tell them that all was fine.

"Rukia-chan, can I ask you another question too?" She nodded.

"Anything." She smiled a bit. I submersed myself a bit lower into the water.

"W-What can I do to be less afraid?" I stuttered. This was definitely a tough question for me to ask, especially since I meant to refer most of the question to a certain individual.

"It depends on what it is." She paused, putting her finger on her chin. "Most of the time, you have to gradually submit yourself to your fear, getting used to it over time. Either that, or have a enormous shock at once, of your fear." She tilted her head to the side. "What are you afraid of?" I shuddered a bit.

"W-well, Aizen is still a definite one, along with the Arrancar." I stuttered again, starting to feel afraid once more, even though I was just talking about them.

"But they're all destroyed, you have no reason to be afraid of them." She questioned my answer. I shook my head at her.

"But it's all so real…" I replied, "My dreams… I feel like I'm still in Hueco Mundo." I shuddered again. "I relive those horrible memories over and over again." I faked another laugh.

"What kind of memories?" Rukia-chan's voice suddenly got more gentle. "But of course, if you don't want to tell me, I understand." I shook my head at her again.

"N-no, it's fine…" I sniffed, trying to hold back more tears that were trying to escape. All because I was too weak. "I remember the times I got beat up by other Arrancar. Or, um…" I paused, "Kind of violated, by other Espada." I choked down the lump in my throat.

"What?!" Her voice got a bit louder. I waved my hands at her frantically. "They didn't… Did they?"

"N-no, it's fine. They didn't do that…" I wiped my eyes. "But I still feel the pain every time I wake up. From both the beatings and _other_ stuff." I felt Rukia's hand on my back, as a sign of comfort.

"I'm sorry Orihime…" She apologized quietly. I shook my head yet again.

"N-no, it's fine. I'm back, and that's what matters." I bit my lip. She looked at me worriedly. "And…" I paused again. "His eyes…" Her eyes got big, like she knew exactly what I was talking about.

"Orihime… I know, it seems scary sometimes, but he's still the same person." I nodded.

"I know that… I know more than anyone." I sniffed. "I'm just afraid that he isn't able to really see me." She looked at me softly.

"Orihime, I'm sure he sees you more than anyone else." She smiled. "You have nothing to worry about, okay?" Karin-chan and Yuzu-chan were waving to us over by the wash basins, motioning to join them. "You don't need to be afraid." She stood up and held out her hand. "Let's go Orihime." She smiled at me one last time, and gave me the best advice I've ever gotten.

"Hold your head high, be confident, don't let your fears get to you. And don't forget to just be yourself, Orihime."

* * *

**_Ichigo's POV (Outside the Bathhouse)_**

I scratched the back of my head, feeling slightly guilty. I had heard the entire conversation of Inoue and Rukia's. I wanted to think that the _said person_ and _him_ they kept referring to was me, but it was best not to assume.

"Orihime-neechan, let's go back here together again sometime!" I heard Yuzu's voice gradually getting louder.

"Ah, s-sure," I heard Inoue reply as well. I turned around to see all of the girls on their way outside. "Thank you again for letting us use the baths." Inoue thanked the owners again, whom just smiled and waved them goodbye.

"Did you two have fun?" I asked Karin and Yuzu. It was pretty obvious that Yuzu enjoyed herself, but I thought I'd ask anyway.

"Yup," replied Karin. "It was really funny when Orihime-chan's towel started to-"

"AH!" Inoue quickly covered Karin's mouth, which caught both of surprise. Yuzu just laughed, and Rukia smiled. "Shhh, that's not something to be repeated Karin-chan." Inoue's face looked quite flushed.

"W-w-we should go. Come on Karin-chan, Yuzu-chan." Inoue grabbed Karin's hand and Yuzu grabbed a hold of Inoue's other hand. In the end, Inoue was dragging Karin, and Yuzu was dragging Inoue. Rukia and I were left standing in front of the bathhouse.

"You pervert." She mumbled.

"What? What did I do?!" I exclaimed at her. She just smirked at me.

"You heard our entire conversation, didn't you?" She folded her arms, shifting her weight to one side.

"W-well, if you didn't talk so loud, maybe I wouldn't have." I stuttered back, as a reply. Her expression changed from a snarky one to a gentle one.

"Take care of her Ichigo." I looked down to her, seeing the subtle happiness in her eyes. "She's an amazing, but fragile person." I saw her look off at Inoue in the distance. "I guess that's what makes her special."

"I didn't need you to tell me that." I responded, smiling slightly. She just laughed a bit.

"Thank you Ichigo." She turned back to look at me. I nodded to her.

"Take care." I whispered to her. She nodded to me as well.

And that's when I saw Rukia Kuchiki disappear into the dark night.

* * *

A/N: Sorry for any OOC characters.

Sorry for so much weird friendship building Orihime+Rukia stuffs.

I hope you liked the extra long chapter though.

Sorry if it was random.

Please review if you liked it. No flames please. Not even a spark.


	10. Salty Tears

A/N: 10 chapters, woo hoo!

Also, in this chapter, yay for Kurosaki-family + Orihime bonding conversations!

Enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter 10**

**_Orihime's POV_**

"O-Orihime-chan, we don't need to be walking so fast…" Karin-chan muttered to me. I stopped and realized what I was doing. I was walking incredibly fast, like I was trying to escape something… Or someone. And I wasn't being dragged by Yuzu-chan either. She was in the same predicament as Karin-chan. I let go of both their hands.

"A-ah, sorry…" I apologized. Yuzu-chan scratched her head.

"It's alright, Orihime-neechan." She spoke, having a smile on her face. "We should probably wait for Ichi-nii though. We seem to have sort of left him behind." I turned around. She was right, because Kurosaki-kun was no where to be found. I sighed, continuing to apologize again.

"I'm sorry, Karin-chan, Yuzu-chan." Karin-chan just laughed at me again.

"It's fine Orihime-chan. He'd be able to find his way back anyway. It's just that he'd be even crankier if we just left him to get home himself." I froze.

I definitely wouldn't want to have Kurosaki-kun mad at me again…

"A-Ah, I see… Let's go sit on the bench then, while we're waiting." I spoke, pointing to the bench on the side of the road. They both nodded in agreement, and Yuzu-chan grabbed my hand again, dragging me to the other side. In a matter of few minutes, we were all sitting on the cold bench, waiting for Kurosaki-kun.

"Orihime-neechan, can I ask you a question?" Yuzu-chan asked me, having a curious face on.

"Of course," I replied, fiddling with my fingers in my lap.

"Do you love Ichi-nii?" I jumped in my place. I never thought she'd ask that question, of all questions.

"See, just by her reaction, it's even more obvious. I told you that you didn't need to ask her." Karin-chan retorted to her twin. My face suddenly got very hot.

"It's that obvious, huh?" I spoke quietly. They both just gave me an awkward laugh, nodding as a response. "W-why do you ask though?"

"Just curious…" Yuzu-chan smiled, responding politely. "Was that why we were walking so fast though? Because you wanted to get some distance from him?" She continued her question. Yuzu-chan was a wonderful little girl, but she sure asked a lot of questions. I nodded to her question, as a response.

"T-that's partially the reason… There's more to it that I'd rather not explain…" I still spoke quietly.

"But Orihime-chan, as much of a dense doofus our brother can be, he's still himself. You've known him for what… Maybe more than 3 years?" Karin-chan explained. "He's no different than he was back then. You have no reason to be nervous or afraid in front of him." Yuzu-chan nodded in agreement to her sister's explanation.

"Right, you have no reason _not _to be confident." Yuzu-chan beamed at me.

For such little girls, they sure do know a lot about life…

Kurosaki-kun's voice broke me out of my thoughts.

"Boy, you guys sure walk fast." He spoke. His tone of his voice didn't sound angry or frustrated at all. "Inoue, your face is all red. Are you okay?" Him asking me that only caused my face to heat up even more. Karin-chan and Yuzu-chan just laughed at me.

"I-I'm fine, it's just a little cold out," I responded, flailing my hands wildly. I suddenly sneezed and Yuzu-chan gasped.

"Orihime-neechan, you always have to remember to dry your hair when you're done with your bath. Otherwise you'll get a cold." She sounded like a mother.

"B-but I did! I can't help it if it's cold out." I pouted. Our argument was cut short by Kurosaki-kun's quiet chuckling. My face got even hotter.

_I can't believe he's not mad…_

My face changed to a straight face. I suddenly felt really tired. Was it because I was subconsciously trying to hold up my façade again? My eyes started to get hazy.

"I-I think we should get back." I spoke, sniffing again. I looked around at all of them, then directly at Kurosaki-kun. "Rukia-chan left, didn't she…?" Kurosaki-kun just nodded, looking slightly sad. I felt my heart drop, and I wanted to cry. I couldn't tell if I felt like that because Rukia-chan left, or because Kurosaki-kun seemed so sad about it.

_Don't cry, you idiot… It'll only make you weaker._

Yuzu-chan must have sensed something was off with me and she linked elbows with mine.

"Come on Orihime-neechan. Karin, Ichi-nii, you too." She started to drag me back to the house, and everyone followed as well. It was about another 10 minutes until we got back. I didn't even notice how we got back to the house. I just felt so out of it.

"I-I'm going to bed." I stuttered, once we were in the house. I pointed to the room I was staying at. "If it's alright…" Kurosaki-san had joined us as well, greeting us as we got home. He just looked at me suspiciously, but told me I could go.

"The bathroom is just down the hall. There's another one upstairs too, but that one is closer for you." Kurosaki-san told me. I gave him a weak smile, and thanked him. I said good night to everyone, getting a smile from them all, with the exception of Kurosaki-kun. He just looked at me with a concerned expression upon his face. I quickly excused myself, and walked to my room. As soon as I closed the door behind me, I fell down onto the floor.

I felt really weak, and my face felt like it was on fire. I shook it off previously because I thought it was from being embarrassed in front of Kurosaki-kun, but now I wasn't so sure that it was the reason now. I heard a small knock from the other side of the door.

"J-just a moment…" I mumbled, struggling to stand back up. I opened the door slowly, only to have a hand slapped to my forehead.

"Ah!" I exclaimed. It was Kurosaki-san.

"I knew it." He spoke, opening the door a bit more.

"K-knew what?" I asked him, stuttering. He took his hand off my forehead.

"You have a fever. Probably a mixture of the cold outside and you being wet from the bathhouse." He explained. It did make sense, what he was saying. He handed me what appeared to be medicine.

"A-ah, thank you Kurosaki-san…" I mumbled, feeling dizzy again. He just gave me a small smile. "B-but how did you know?"

"I'm a doctor. Plus Ichigo would probably beat me up again, if I knew something was wrong with you, but didn't do anything about it." He pointed to the medicine he had just given me. "Just take that now, and hopefully you should be feeling better in the morning." I gave him a weak smile.

"Thank you…" I spoke quietly. He just nodded, and gave me a thumbs-up, and continued to be on his way. I escaped back into my room, shutting the door quietly behind me. Luckily for me, there was a small sink and mirror in the room. They must have one of these in every room. I went to the sink. I saw myself in the mirror, and I looked weak and pathetic. I forced myself to tear my eyes away from my reflection in the mirror, and took the medicine, drinking some water as well.

After I finished taking the medicine, I stumbled over one of my suitcases, pulling out one of my nightgowns. I couldn't really tell which one I took out, since I couldn't really see clearly, but it looked like a decent one. I slowly took my clothes off and lazily put my pajamas on. I felt another wave of dizziness, caused from me standing up too quickly after finishing dressing. Next thing I knew, I had collapsed on my bed, and it was only a matter of minutes until I met the darkness that had been both my friend and enemy.

* * *

"_Inoue."_

_I heard my name being called, but I could only see myself in a bright room. My heart jumped as I heard the person say my name again._

"_Inoue…" This time it was closer. I closed my eyes and let myself absorb myself into the serene voice. It was so familiar…_

"_Inoue… Inoue…" I heard my name repeated twice more, and I felt a warm hand embrace my waist, from behind, and another hand was running through my hair. I gasped at the person's touch. It was surprising, but it felt so pleasurable._

"_Orihime…" I now heard the voice whisper my name into ear. His hot breath ran down my neck. I shuddered and felt my legs go weak. The voice sounded so familiar, and the way he said my name just shook me to the core. I opened my eyes slowly. I was still in the white room, but it was starting to get darker. I turned around slowly to see whom the voice belonged to. _

_All I saw were piercing gold eyes. Suddenly, the floor below my feet disappeared, and I fell and fell._

_And I screamed once more._

* * *

I awoke startled, barely squeaking a scream. I had tears running down my face again. I sobbed, clutching my knees close to my body. I didn't know what it was about my nightmare that made me more afraid than normal, but it was definitely worse.

And it seemed so much more real.

I took a deep breath and tried to regain my composure. I choked back my tears, wiping away the ones that had already escaped. I felt around on the table next to me for the lamp. Once I found it, I turned it on and it illuminated the once dark room. I quickly glanced around the room, looking for a clock.

It was 1:34. I had barely gotten 6 hours of sleep so far. I stood up and went over to the sink to wash my face of my salty tears. I looked at myself in the mirror to estimate the damage.

I looked worse than I did when I looked at myself earlier. At least I felt a bit better, probably thanks to the medicine Kurosaki-san gave me earlier.

_Maybe a glass of water will calm me down…_

I nodded to myself, as a sign of comfort to myself, and went back over to the door I had previously entered less than 6 hours ago. I opened it slowly, trying not to wake anyone up. The door hinges squeaked slightly, but it appeared that all was still calm. I went out, and closed it behind me. I walked down the dark, empty hallway, and into the dining room, where I found a large body at the table, with a small light on. I squinted my eyes to see who it was. It was Kurosaki-san.

"K-Kurosaki-san, why are you still awake?" I whispered silently, going over to the table where he was. He looked up from the table, and gave me a soft smile.

"I was just looking at some old family albums. Did you need something Orihime-chan?" He asked.

"O-Oh, yes, where are the glasses?" I asked, pointing to the kitchen. He paused a moment to think before saying anything.

"2nd cupboard on the left. 1st shelf." I nodded to him and went into the kitchen, searching for the cupboard he was talking about. Once I found my glass, I filled it up with water from the sink, letting myself sigh heavily.

"Why such a heavy sigh?" He joked from the other room. I took my glass back with me, and sat down next to Kurosaki-san. I bit my lip.  
"Nightmares…" I spoke quietly, putting my head in both my hands.

"Well, they say having dreams is the way our unconscious mind works out our inner conflicts, wishes, and fears." He paused, closing the photo album he had open. "Do you have any problems that's maybe causing you these nightmares?" I looked over at him, hoping he would say yes to the question I was about to ask him.

"C-can I be completely honest with you?" I stuttered.

"I'd prefer it if you were," he spoke with a gentle smile. I breathed a small sigh of relief.

"I do have problems… And lots of 'em." I sighed again. He just chuckled.

"We all have our problems, Orihime-chan, it's just how we deal with them is the solution. How are you dealing with yours?" He asked me as I took another sip of water.

"Um… I'm really not… I'm ignoring them, or suffering alone." I spoke honestly. I didn't know what it was about Kurosaki-san, but he felt like he was actually my father, and it gave me a very reassuring feeling.

"Tsk, tsk, that's no way to deal with them. The best way is to attack it head on." He just looked at me, and laughed again. "Or maybe for you, just keep talking to someone about it all." I nodded, biting my lip again. What he was saying made sense. I looked over at his book.

"You said you were looking at family photos?" I scooted the chair closer to the book he was looking at. He continued to smile.

"Yup… I just felt really nostalgic all of a sudden, and the urge to look at pictures just popped up." He spoke happily, flipping over to the next page. It had a few pictures of Kurosaki-kun with his mom, and a few of Karin-chan and Yuzu-chan as babies.

"They seem so small!" I gasped, forming my mouth into an 'O' shape. He just laughed again.

"Yeah, they just seem to grow up so fast." He flipped the page over again. This time it just had pictures of Kurosaki-kun and his mother. I felt a sharp pain in my heart.

"He seems so different now, looking at these pictures…" I spoke quietly, and slightly hurt. Kurosaki-kun just nodded.

"After Masaki died… He just was never the same… None of us were the same." He flipped the page again. There was one photo of the entire Kurosaki family, all of them smiling happily. I touched the picture softly.

_How I wish I had a family like this…_

"You know, I had always thought this, but I think I've seen it more recently, since you've been here." I looked at him questionably, still having my hand on the photo. "You look like Masaki when she was your age." My eyes went big.

"R-Really…?" I stuttered, looking back at the table.

"That could be partially the reason Ichigo's taken a liking to you." He spoke. My heart did another flip. "Your and Masaki's personalities are very different, but you both have the air about you that draws people towards you." He flipped the page once more. I just nodded, feeling awkward all of a sudden.

What if the only reason Kurosaki-kun and his family liked me, was because I bore a resemblance to the mother, wife, and caretaker of this family? Did that mean Kurosaki-kun was only my friend because he kept seeing the past?

I felt another tear slide down my face. I quickly wiped it away, trying not to make Kurosaki-san worry too much.

"A-Aha, sorry, I was just thinking again." I forced a light laugh. "Usually thinking only results in me in tears, unfortunately." I head the floor creak from not too far away.

It was Kurosaki-kun.

He was yawning, until he saw Kurosaki-san and I at the table. He suddenly looked very irritated.

_It's probably all my fault… He's probably mad at me…_

"Oh, son, why are you up?" Kurosaki-san smiled at his son.

"I was woken up by two people talking."

_Yup, definitely mad at me._

"What the hell are you telling her now?" He continued, glaring at his father. Kurosaki-san just beamed at him.

"I was just telling Orihime-chan about how cute you were when you were a baby." He spoke happily, holding up the book with a picture of Kurosaki-kun playing in the sand at the beach. Kurosaki-kun's face just turned red. I faked a laugh, trying to make our 'story' sound more plausible.

"I-it's true. You were a really cute kid." I forced a smile at him.

"Inoue…" Kurosaki-kun just grumbled. My eyes narrowed and I looked at the table again.

_See, now he's even madder at me…_

"Well, I'd better hit the sack." Kurosaki-san said, stretching and yawning at the same time.

"I'll hit you…" Kurosaki-kun just mumbled to his father. Kurosaki-san stood up and smiled at me.

"Good night Orihime-chan. Thanks for the conversation, and I hope you feel better." He spoke. I just nodded to him, and he left the room. I turned my attention back to the table, and I started to spin my glass around in its place, trying to keep myself distracted, also hoping Kurosaki-kun wouldn't ask me about what Kurosaki-san just said. Kurosaki-kun pulled out the chair next to me, and sat down as well.

"Feel better? Are you not feeling well Inoue?" He spoke. There it was… That caring tone he had in his voice. The one that had continuously led me to believe he actually cared about me more than a normal friend did.

But no, we were nakama, and nothing else.

"Ah, no, I'm fine…" I explained, fiddling around with the glass of water. I could tell he didn't believe my story.

"I don't believe you." His tone now had an edge to it. I stiffened up.

_Now I'm in deep trouble._

"A-ah, it's fine, I just have a bit of a fever, is all." I stuttered, trying to keep my cool. Just sitting next to Kurosaki-kun made my heart beat a mile a minute. All of a sudden, he had his hand on my bare arm, forcing me to look at him.

"Inoue, why do you make things less of a big deal than they really are?" His voice sounded even angrier. "Why do you keep lying to me?" I saw anger and pain in his eyes. I'm sure he saw fear, pain, and even sorrow in my eyes. I turned my head to the side, so he wouldn't see them.

"Inoue, please look at me." His voice sounded a bit calmer. He used his hand to hold my face, to make me look at him directly. I bit my lip once more, as I hesitated to look at him. "Please…" He whispered.

_His voice… Why is it that I go weak every time I heard his voice?_

I looked at him directly, my eyes wavering. He didn't look angry anymore… He had a different emotion in his eyes that was oddly comforting. I couldn't say what it was though.

"You're eyes are swollen, Inoue…" He ran him thumb by my eye, with the hand that was holding my face. "Were you crying again?"

_Please… Don't do this if you don't mean it…_

I gave him a slow nod, closing my eyes slowly, feeling another tear escape from my eyes, rolling down my cheek.

_Please don't give me false hope… _

I suddenly felt a hot breath on my cheek, which was accompanied with warm skin.

_You're only making me fall in love with you even more…_

I opened one eye slightly, and he appeared to be kissing my cheek. Kissing my tears.

_Please…_

Only I didn't just think it in my head, I said it out loud as well.

"Please…"

_Don't let me be even more of a burden to you…_

And everything went black again.

* * *

A/N: Woot, weird OOC IchiHime moment. –sweatdrop- Sorry about that.

Again, sorry if it seemed OOC. And about Isshin not being all crazy around Orihime, I personally think that he'd act that way towards her, just because I think it makes some sort of sense… I dunno.

Please review if you liked it. If you didn't, then don't. Please no spamming or flamin'. I don't like my stuff on fire. Thanks for reading!


	11. Yes

A/N: Aha, I love you guys so much~ Over 70 reviews.

Enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter 11 **

_**Orihime's POV**_

_I was lying in a field of grass, with a gentle breeze causing a few strands of my long hair to casually float up into the air. I sighed to myself, looking up at the blue sky, with the occasional fluffy white cloud._

_"Something the matter, Inoue?" I heard a familiar voice ask me. The voice sounded like it was right next to me. I slowly turned my head to see who it was, but no one was there. I turned my head back up at the sky. I felt somewhat sad, but mostly numb, as if my entire heart and mind were completely frozen. I noticed a small tear was rolling down my cheek._

_After all, I was all alone. I have always been alone, and always will be._

_"Inoue, I told you I'd protect you." I heard the voice again, only it was on the opposite side. I glanced to the other side to see who it was again, out of the corner of my eye._

_Again, nothing. Just the gentle breeze. I spread my arms out on the field, letting my hands run through the soft grass. It sort of reminded me of his blazing orange hair…_

_I closed my eyes, taking in another deep breath. I felt so calm, but so full of sorrow._

_I suddenly felt a pressure above me… I could tell who it was by his rieatsu._

_It was him._

_"Inoue…" I felt hot breath on my face. I did not dare open my eyes, for fear that he would disappear again. "I love you Inoue…" He entangled his hands with mine. His hands were callused from fighting so much, but they felt so warm and comforting. I slowly opened my eyes, slightly hoping in my heart that he wouldn't disappear._

_He was still there. And he gave me his signature smirk._

_Ichigo Kurosaki._

_I felt my cheeks grow warm, and he just chuckled at my reaction. He removed one of his hands from mine, and put it on my cheek. He stroked my face with his thumb. What I saw in his eyes was love and compassion. Something I feel like I'd never seen before._

_"Close your eyes…" He whispered. I nodded, doing as I was told. I closed my eyes and I felt the heat from his skin getting closer to my own. I could suddenly feel his hot breath on his lips, and I suddenly knew he was going to kiss me._

_'Kurosaki-kun…' I thought to myself, and felt a slight pressure on my lips._

_And then it disappeared._

_-----  
_

I woke up from the sun in my eyes, which I quickly shielded with my hand, groaning from the rude awakening.

_It felt so real…_ I touched my lips, feeling like I wish I could have seen more of my dream.

Dream…

At least it was a dream and not a nightmare… I silently thanked my brain for not giving me trouble more during my slumber.

I heard a knock on the door. "Y-Yes?" I spoke, sitting up from my lying position. Kurosaki-kun opened the door and poked his head in.

"U-Um, breakfast is ready, if you want to come down." He murmured, his face looking slightly red. I nodded to him, stretching my arms. He left, and I was left in the room, still feeling slightly groggy. After a few minutes, I felt more awake, and I looked around the room.

But it wasn't the room I was staying in. It was Kurosaki-kun's room.

…

Why was I in Kurosaki-kun's room?!?! I jumped up and tried to get off the bed, only resulting in the collision of my face and the hardwood floor.

"Oooowie…" I spoke to myself, rubbing my nose in pain. I looked around the room once more, for I still couldn't believe I was in his room. Surely I was just seeing things, right? I rubbed my eyes just to make sure.

Nope, not seeing things. It was the real deal.

I quickly ran out of his room, and into the bathroom that Kurosaki-san said was on this level. Once I found the mirror in the bathroom, I estimated the damage once more.

And surprisingly, for being sick last night, I didn't look too bad. The swelling on my eyes had gone down, but the swelling was apparent on my lips. My lips usually didn't start to swell up unless I was biting them a lot, or…

My face turned bright red, upon remember the information Tatsuki-chan had given me a while back.

-----

_"Girl's lips always seem to get swollen after they've kissed someone. And not just like a normal kiss, but a deep, intense kiss." She winked._

_"W-what?! Where did you hear that?" I stuttered to her. How would she know such things? She laughed at me._

_"One of the girls in gym class left a magazine on the floor, and I picked it up, reading the first fact I saw in there." She shrugged before continuing, "I threw it away after I found out it was a girly magazine. Interesting fact though, huh? Make sure you remember that, you might need it someday." She smiled at me. I just laughed at her as a response._

_"T-tatsuki-chan, when would I need that kind of advice?" I stuttered to her. She just smiled like she knew something._

_"You never know."_

_-----  
_

O-Of course it had to be because I was biting my lips a lot last night… Early this morning… I'm not sure what to call it.

But it had to be that… Right? Because there's no other reason that anyone in this household would kiss me. Unless my dream wasn't only a dream… Maybe it wasn't just a dream, and Tatsuki-chan was so right that I needed that tidbit of information!

"Arrrghhh!" I yelled out in frustration. I was thinking too much, and it hurt my head! I quickly splashed some water on my face, trying to make the redness go away. My hair didn't look to bad, so I left it be. I struggled to open the bathroom door back up, having a heated debate with myself whether I should go down or not. I knew I should, but I was as red as a tomato! Of course people would be wondering what was wrong with me!

I heard another knock on the door, causing me to jump.

"Orihime-neechan, it's Yuzu. Don't you want to come out for breakfast?" I heard a small innocent voice on the other side. I breathed a sigh of relief, only knowing it was Yuzu-chan. I opened up the door to see her smiling on the other side.

"I made pancakes with scrambled eggs for breakfast. I hope you're hungry!" She happily spoke. "Also, you have a really cute nightdress! No wonder Ichi-nii looked so red this morning!" My eyes went big. 'What?!' I thought. There's no way he could be thinking _anything_ about me.

"S-sounds great, and uh… T-thank you!" I forced an awkward smile. She grabbed my hand and led me downstairs.

_Well, no going back now._

"Orihime-neechan, your face it quite red," She spoke to me, with a big smile still on her face. Her saying that only made my face even hotter.

"Y-yeah… I know." I replied, stepping off the last step. Wasn't she going to ask what I was doing in Kurosaki-kun's room? We stepped around the corner, and she asked another question.

"Did something happen?" She asked me again.

_More than one thing happened…_ I mentally freaked out, failing in regaining my composure.

"O-Oh, I just had a good dream is all." I responded to her. I heard and saw Kurosaki-san.

"Oh? What kind of dream?" He asked, grinning as well. I felt my face get even hotter now. I'm sure my face was the color of a tomato and strawberry mixed together. Which meant double red.

Strawberry…

Ichigo.

_Gah!! Stop thinking about it!_

"Ahahaha, I-I-I-it's nothing Kurosaki-san!!" I flailed my arms wildly, probably looking like a fool. I was really embarrassed, I figured I couldn't get any lower than I already was. I looked around the dining room, and everyone was seated with the exception of me. The only one left was next to Kurosaki-kun. I slowly shuffled my way to my seat.

"Orihime-chan, how are you feeling this morning?" Kurosaki-san asked me with a mouth full of pancake. I felt a little relieved, that the direction of conversation was changing a bit. But not really.

_I feel super embarrassed from being kissed on the cheek, having a weird dream, then waking up in your son's room. Perfectly dandy._

Though I actually knew he was talking about the fever.

"M-Much better! I'm not so dizzy and tired now, I feel much better." I picked up my fork, but failed to make it unknown that my hands were shaking a lot.

"Orihime-chan, are you sure you're okay? We thought we heard you yelling… or something, upstairs." Karin-chan raised her eyebrow, asking me yet another question.

Why was it that everyone in this family was able to pick up on every little thing that happened to me, but the man I loved could be the densest person in the world, according to Tatsuki-chan.

"Ah, I-I'm fine. I just remembered something silly that Tatsuki-chan said." It was partially the truth. I took a bite of the eggs. "T-the food is delicious, Yuzu-chan!" I tried to change the subject. She smiled at me.

"Thanks, I'm glad you think so!" She retorted enthusiastically. Karin-chan changed the subject again.

"Yuzu, don't forget that we need to finish our homework later, okay?" I raised my eyebrows, questioning why Karin-chan reminded Yuzu-chan about such a thing.

"Huh? Why?" I asked. Karin-chan just looked at me like I was crazy.

"Today is the last day of break. We go back to school tomorrow." She replied, shoveling in a fork full of pancake.

My eyes narrowed on the food in front of me.

_Right… I have to go back to school… I can't believe everything is really back to normal._

_No, I don't think anything will ever be normal with me… Never again._

I was snapped out of my thoughts as Kurosaki-san was talking to me.

"Did you hear me Orihime-chan?" He asked me, his eyes big. I jumped back a bit in surprise.

"A-ah, no, sorry." I quickly apologized. He just gave me a big grin and started to speak.

"Karin, Yuzu and I need to go out for a few errands this morning, so will you be okay staying here?" He spoke. "We won't be gone long, just because these two need to finish up homework."

Me? Alone with Kurosaki-kun? I stiffened up. It couldn't be that bad, right? I mean, it's not like I need to have a long, drawn out conversation with him while they were gone.

"Ah, yes, that's fine…" I nodded to him. I had figured out my plan: I'd just stay away from Kurosaki-kun even more than I usually have, and everything would be fine. I put my fork down. "I-I'm done." I tried to speak casually. Everyone except Karin-chan gave me big eyes. Mainly Yuzu-chan and Kurosaki-san.

"B-But, you barely ate anything!" Yuzu-chan wailed, her eyes appearing to be very watery. I waved my hands at her, reassuring her it was all right.  
"I'm just not very hungry right now Yuzu-chan, your food was very delicious." Her eyes appeared to be less watery, and tears did not threaten to fall from her face.

"You should really eat more, Orihime-chan, even if you're not hungry. It's not healthy." Kurosaki-san pushed the matter even further. He must have obviously noticed my thinner than normal appearance.

"I-I'm fine, I'm strong, so you don't need to worry about m-" I got cut off short by someone's hand holding my chin, and the other shoving a piece of pancake in with my fork. I recognized the hand from last night. Early this morning. Whatever.

My face heated up, and I looked straight at Kurosaki-kun. He had just fed me! Everyone else's face appeared to be a bit flushed as well. As soon as Kurosaki-kun realized we were all looking at him, he seemed to get really irritated.

"What the hell are you all looking at?!" He yelled out. "Eat Inoue." Kurosaki-kun commanded me, without looking up. I nodded at him.

_If I just had kept eating, he wouldn't be so mad… It's all my fault._

I picked up my fork, and resumed eating.

I really had been lying to Yuzu-chan, saying that I wasn't very hungry. I was still hungry, but since I've had so many nightmares, I felt like I was going to be really sick after I ate. So why eat food if I felt like I was just going to 'get rid of it' right away?

I nibbled on my eggs, and looked over at Kurosaki-kun. He was still eating, and he just looked at his food, very irritated. I noticed a small blush had crept upon his face. I continued to nibble on my food, feeling a bit happy that he was concerned for my well being.

It probably wouldn't last very long though.

"Ahhh, good breakfast. I'm done." Kurosaki-san spoke, sounding satisfied. He patted his belly.

"Me too." Both Karin-chan and Yuzu-chan said as well. Kurosaki-san looked at me, with a smile on his face.

"We'll be going now. Do you two mind cleaning up?" He pointed to the dirty dishes. I shook my head fervently.

"O-Of course not!" I was staying here for free. The least I could do was help around the house whenever they needed it. He gave us one last smile, and waved to us goodbye. Yuzu-chan and Karin-chan said their good-byes as well, and we heard the front door click shut. That meant they were gone.

I took a few more bites of food, and declared myself full. I started to gather all the dishes, including Kurosaki-kun's, and brought them into the kitchen, placing them next to the sink. I started to run hot water and filled it with soap. I knew Kurosaki-kun was still in the dining room, so I hummed to myself, trying to get my mind off of him.

Only he actually wasn't in the dining room anymore. I felt a pair of arms snake around my waist. And last time I checked, it was only Kurosaki-kun and myself in the house. No one else. My knees went weak, but I couldn't let myself fall down.

"Inoue… I need to talk to you about something…"

_Don't make a sound… Don't say a thing… Just listen._ I thought to myself. It was terribly difficult to not say anything or make any sounds. I may sound a bit perverted, but being in Kurosaki-kun's strong arms made me go weak, and I felt uncomfortably pleasured.

He squeezed my body a bit tighter as he started to speak.

"I… I'm sorry for treating you the way I did last night…"

_Now he's apologizing… He's hugging me like this, and only apologizing. How much can he lead me to believe that he loves me?_

"It was sudden, and uncalled for… I just felt…" He paused. I gulped down the feeling of nervousness in my throat, and closed my eyes. I gripped the edge of the countertop for support.

"I hate to see you cry… Or that you've cried, Inoue… It just rips my heart in half." He spoke quietly, whispering in my ear. His hot breath trailed down to my neck. My eyes threatened to spill tears again.

_Please… Please don't make me feel this way… It only hurts me more._

"A-And… I think I realized something last night… After lots of thinking."

_Please don't say it… Please. It'll only make it harder for me to be away from you._

"I-Inoue… I…" He hugged me tighter. My heart was beating rapidly, and I now felt a stray tear fall down my face.

"I think I love you."

With those words, I felt my heart rip in two, and I broke out in silent tears.

_How can I be so happy, but so sad at the same time?_ I lost me balance, and completely fell back into his arms. I still kept my eyes closed. I didn't want him to see my emotion through my eyes.

"Inoue… What's wrong?" He suddenly got worried. He spun me around, so I was facing him now. I still couldn't see his face. I refused to. I shook my head madly at him.

"Inoue, please tell me… What's wrong?" I felt him shaking my arms now. He was shaking as well. Was it from confessing to me, or from me crying? I shook my head again, but this time, it resulted in a soft, but fierce pressure on my lips.

He was kissing me again.

"N-No…" I muttered out. "P-Please stop…" I pushed him away. I finally opened my eyes, and met with his. He seemed hurt.

"What's wrong?…" He asked me, almost silently.

"I told you…" I sobbed, holding up my hands to my face. "I don't want to keep loving you if I only cause you pain." I sniffed loudly. "And all I ever do is make you angry and cause you pain." He kissed me again. I didn't do anything. I didn't respond. I felt numb again, and I just felt like I had no energy to push him away.

"Inoue… If you aren't by me, I feel even more pain." He pulled me into a tight hug. I cried into his chest, remaining still. "When you went to Hueco Mundo… I-I felt like I would die… It just hurt so much to hear that you left." His hand stroked my hair. "And that was before I realized I loved you." He whispered again into my ear. "Please… Just give me… No… Us a chance… Please." I sobbed, clinging to his shirt.

What should I do? I loved Kurosaki-kun with all my heart, and it hurt so much to be away from him, but I knew from previous experience that me being around him would cause him pain and hurt… But was he telling the truth when he said he hurt more when I left?

I needed to make my decision now. I've given myself plenty of time to think about this before, and I had already made my decision to say no. But now my heart was wavering.

I pulled out my hands from his chest and returned the hug. Returned to regret my previous decision.

_Yes…_

* * *

A/N: HOOOOO BOY, ICHIHIME! I hope ya'll are happy. I know I am. I swear that my cheeks were turning red from writing this coughhotcough confession scene. It was just SOOOOO sweet.

Please review!! Please, please do review. Also, thank you SOOOO much for reading. 3 I appreciate every single one of your hits.


	12. Remembering his lingering touch

A/N: Yay-ness, I love IchiHime. Sorry if the beginning is kind of awkward… I was in this epic romance-writing mood with the last chapter, but I kind of shifted out of it, and now it sounds weird, lol.

._. I feel so dirty writing the beginning of this chapter… lol

Please enjoy this chapter to the fullest extent.

* * *

**Chapter 12**

**_Orihime's POV_**

"Yes…" I whispered to him, clutching the back of his shirt like it was my only lifeline. He just pulled my small body into an even tighter hug.

No going back on my decision now…

"Inoue…" He whispered my name slowly into my ear. I shuddered from his touch. "I'm… So happy…" I could tell he was smiling into my shoulder.

"K-Kurosaki-kun…" I stuttered to him. He started to caress my waist, causing me to jump slightly. He retracted his hand, as he sensed my sudden shock.

"S-sorry…" He mumbled. I shook my head in embarrassment.

"N-No… It's fine…" I paused, feeling my wet face heat up even more. "It's fine…" He didn't say anything. He just put his hand back on my waist, enveloping my lips into another kiss.

My heart hurt intensely, but I tried to ignore the pain. It hurt for two reasons:

One, I was so terrified that I'd only hurt him. There was a part of me that held myself back, so I wouldn't cause him more pain.

And two, my heart hurt even more because I had loved Kurosaki-kun for so long, I felt like I suddenly couldn't get enough of him. I loved every touch of his as it sent a small shock to the very core of my body.

"Ahh…" I gasped as he kissed me. He moved both of his hands to the back of my neck, to be able to hold me closer. "K-Kurosaki-kun…"

"Inoue…" His voice rang out. I felt my heart flip. "I… We should stop." He murmured. I nodded, feeling my very being just melt at the sound of his voice. He buried his head in my neck. "Sorry…" He grumbled. I shook my head.

"N-No, it's fine…" I paused, feeling my face heat up immensely. "I-I… kind of liked it…" I heard him chuckle a bit. What was I saying? It was so embarrassing!

"I'm glad to hear that…" His face was now only a few centimeters away from my face. He gave me another one of his rare smiles. I turned around swiftly, facing the sink again, because I felt very embarrassed. I felt my hair hit something hard as I turned around.

"Inoue…" He growled. I must have hit him in the face with my hair.

"I-I-I'm so sorry!!" I apologized to him. He just laughed a bit at me, rubbing his face.

"It's fine Inoue." I gave him a weak smile.

I hope he's telling the truth…

"I'm going to go upstairs real quick. Can you handle dishes on your own?" He asked me casually, touching my shoulder lightly. I nodded to him, pumping a fist in the air.

"I'll do my best!" He just nodded and left, leaving me to now cold and soapy water. All I could do when I was washing dishes was remember the lingering feeling of his hands on my skin.

I suddenly heard the rest of the Kurosaki family talking in the front door. I quickly wiped my hands off and ran to greet them.

"Welcome back!" I gave them a big smile. They just returned with a smile as well.

"We're back! Told you we wouldn't be long," Kurosaki-san exclaimed. I nodded in response. Yuzu-chan looked at me curiously.

"Something about you looks different." She spoke questionably. My face got hot.

_Something is different._

"I'm the same as always, Yuzu-chan!" I waved my hand at her, reassuring her that all was fine.

"I think I know what it is." Kurosaki-san spoke with a grin on his face. I shook my head at him, trying to cover up the truth.

"N-No, nothing's different, Kurosaki-san. I don't know what you're talking about!" I laughed nervously. He just nudged my side continuously, wiggling his eyebrows.

"You say that, but I know it's not the truth." His voice sounded like he knew something.

"Leave her alone, Dad. You're going to make her run away from your stupid actions." Karin-chan retorted to him.

_I'm afraid I'm going to run away anyway._

"The dining room looks really clean! Did you and Ichi-nii do a super cleaning job?" Yuzu-chan asked me, looking baffled at the cleanliness of the table. I felt my face heat up a bit more from remembering what we were doing instead of cleaning.

"U-Uh, not really… I cleared off the table, but I wasn't able to finish washing all the dishes." I told her, scratching my head. She just nodded in acceptance to my response.

"Well, I can finish those up, and you can go clean yourself up. The bathroom down that hall has a shower in it, and the towels are in the cabinet opposite of the sink." Yuzu-chan explained to me, pointing down to the hall. I nodded, smiling.

"Thank you Yuzu-chan." I thanked her. She smiled at me and shooed me away. I slipped away and went back to my room. As soon as I got in there, I suddenly felt very lonely and afraid. I couldn't tell it was from earlier, and myself craving Kurosaki-kun's touch again, or the atmosphere in the room. I felt my face get even hotter. Shaking it off, I went over to my suitcases and pulled a baby doll top and a pair of jeans out of one of them. I also grabbed my necessary undergarments, promptly leaving the room for the bathroom after doing so.

_My heart hurts so much again… I can't have Kurosaki-kun worry about me, so I can't show it. _I felt a quick pinch of pain in my chest, causing me to grasp the strap of my nightgown in discomfort. _Don't let him know anything… _I bit my lip again, opening the door to the bathroom.

It was just as white and unfeeling as my room. A very numb feeling swept over me as I entered, locking the door behind me. I swallowed, trying to force my feelings and tears back down. I set my clean clothes on the sink counter and turned on the water to the shower. The sound the water made as it came down sounded like a thousand needles hitting the ground. I hope it didn't hurt as much as it sounded.

I took off my current clothes and stepped into the shower, letting hot water pour over me. I shuddered as the hot water reminded me of Kurosaki-kun's touch.

As I was taking my shower, it felt as if the violent drops soaked my body, almost like it was cleansing my soul and pain. I didn't realize how long I'd been in there till I heard a small voice on the other side of the door.

"Oi, Orihime-chan, you've been in there for a while. Are you okay?" Karin-chan's voice spoke through the door.

"I-I'm fine… I'll be out in a moment." I replied back to her, hearing nothing but silence back. She must have left…

I turned the hot water off, and stepped out of the shower slowly, making sure I wouldn't fall. I was already clumsy as it was, it would be even worse if I hit my head coming out of the shower or something.

As I successfully exited the shower without dying, I grabbed a towel from the cupboard and started to dry myself off. As I did so, I remembered every single place Kurosaki-kun touched.

_Arm… Shoulder… Waist… Face… Lips…_

My face heated up once again. I slapped myself gently on the face to try to make the redness go away. My blushing went away, but I still managed to hurt myself.

I swiftly fell onto the ground, from slipping on water. I winced in pain as I landed my hip, quite weirdly too I might add, which probably caused it to hurt more than a normal fall. I bit my lip in frustration and hurt.

_Now another thing to chalk up on my 'already hurt' list…_

I struggled to stand back up since I was in so much pain.

"I'm such an idiot…" I mumbled to myself, still biting my lip. I felt the familiar tears make an appearance on my face. "Klutz…"

I finished drying myself off, while putting all my weight on my opposite, non-pained side. I flinched in more pain as I put on my panties and pants, secretly wishing I hadn't pick out a pair of pants that were so tight on my hips.

_Just live with it… Just hide it and it'll all be fine._

I strapped on my bra and threw my shirt on, again putting all my weight to one side as I was standing. Limping over to the mirror, I noticed my face was red and my eyes looked blotchy. Not to mention my hair looked like a rat's nest.

_And I just had to leave my makeup and hairbrush in my suitcase…_ I mentally cursed to myself. I threw my towel into the nearby hamper and unlocked the door, preparing to open it. I also secretly hoped that no one would see me going from the bathroom to my room, because I had every intention to limp my way there.

I peered out to see if all was clear.

_The coast is clear. No one's around._ I nodded to myself, and started to hobble my way to my room.

"Oi, Inoue." I heard Kurosaki-kun's voice from down the hall. I jumped at the sound of his voice. I couldn't let him see me like this, so I hurried faster to my room, and managed to close and lock the door before he could catch up to me. I bit my lip again, hoping he would just go back to the rest of his family.

No such luck and I heard a knock on the door. I jumped in surprise again.

"Inoue, Yuzu is looking for you. Would you go see her when you're finished?" He asked.

_He's only asking me something… Thank goodness._

"A-Ah, yes. I'll be out in a minute." I responded back to him, leaning back against the door.

"Okay." He paused. "Is everything all right?" He asked me another question.

_Lying again to the man you love… Great move._

"I'm fine. I just need to brush my hair and put on makeup." I forced a laugh. "You wouldn't want to see me now, I look like a mess." I heard him sigh on the other side.

"You can look like a mess and you'd still look beautiful…" He spoke, sounding a bit forced. I felt my face get hot, but I felt my heart drop.

_It sounds like he doesn't want to say it… He shouldn't say it if he doesn't mean it._

I bit my lip, barely muttering a "Thanks". It went silent on both sides of the door. I sighed, feeling a stray tear roll down my cheek. I assumed he left.

"Kurosaki-kun, everything isn't all right. I can't stop crying. I cry because I'm weak, I cry because I'm afraid, and I cry because I love you too much." I sobbed quietly to myself. "It just hurts so much…" I clutched my shirt, as my heart was hurting even more now. I laughed to myself, still in pain. "Too bad I can't say that to you directly… But I don't want to give you my burden…" I sniffed, wiping my face. I slapped it gently again.

"Okay. Time to regain composure. The little blue men wouldn't be happy if I kept acting like this." I stood back up, very cautiously though. I managed to hobble over to my suitcase, kneeling down to open it, finding my hairbrush lying on top. I started to tear through my knots, feeling it hurt every time I tried to take one of them over.

Even though my hair was wet, I could still tell that a lot of my hair was clinging to my face because of my tears.

_I should put it up… It'll only be annoying otherwise._

After I plowed through my plethora of knots in my hair, I pulled it into a loose ponytail, rearranging my hair clips to look better. I grabbed my makeup pouch and stood back up painfully and went over to the mirror in my room. My face still looked horrible. My eyes were swollen again, along with my lips. I felt like my eyes were constantly a window of emotions, and that everyone could see how I was feeling. So I didn't like now how I could see in my own eyes my hurt, sorrow and guilt. I shook it off and started to apply concealer on the bags under my eyes. After I made it look like I wasn't a complete zombie, I applied my usual makeup.

And even after I did, I still looked terrible. I felt tears at the corner of my eyes again.

"Don't you dare threaten to fall… I just put makeup on." I spoke quietly to myself. I gripped the corner of the sink in discomfort. Now the spot on my hip was throbbing in pain. I bit my lip, trying to choke down the lump in my throat. You know the one you always get when you're about to cry?

I looked at myself hard in the mirror.

"You're fine… You're fine…" I whispered. "Everything will be all right." I said that to myself, but I knew it wouldn't be able to give my much support for very long.

I managed to put my makeup case bag by my suitcase, and was back at the locked door again.

_Don't limp. Don't cry. Just act like you're fine. _I mentally made a checklist for myself. I straightened up my stance, putting my weight equally on both sides. It hurt a lot, but I had to put on another facade. I took a deep breath and opened the door.

Again, luckily, no one was outside waiting for me. I took a sigh of relief and made my painful way back to the dining room.

"Orihime-chan, are you sure you're all right? You took quite a while." Karin-chan asked me, as she was sitting at the table. I nodded, forcing a smile.

"Yup! I'm totally fine! My hair was full of knots, and it took a looooooooong time to get them all out." I pointed to my head as I spoke. "It's all good now though." She looked a bit disinterested. I changed the subject. "Kurosaki-kun said Yuzu-chan wanted to talk to me. Do you know where she might be?" I asked her. She pointed to the kitchen.

"If you're ever looking for Yuzu, she's normally in the kitchen." She replied, yawning. I nodded.

"Thank you!" She shooed me off, and I made another painful journey to the kitchen. "Yuzu-chan, your brother said you were looking for me. Did you need something?" She looked up from the countertop, putting on an awkward smile.

"Y-yeah… Mind if we go outside to talk?" Yuzu-chan asked, looking a bit wary.

_Yay, more walking…_

"Not at all," I responded to her, putting on another smile. She grabbed my hand again, and started to lead me outside. She kind of caught me off-guard and I ended up twisting my leg in a way that caused my hip to hurt really badly, but just for a quick moment. I winced in pain, but noticed Kurosaki-kun out of the corner of my eye. I quickly put on a straight face and hoped he hadn't seen my 'pained' look.

If he did, he'd probably demand what was wrong. And I didn't want to have him be mad at me again.

* * *

**_Ichigo's POV_**

As I made my way down the stairs, I saw that Yuzu was pulling Inoue towards the outside door. For a quick moment, I thought Inoue's face seemed to be in pain, but I temporarily put it to the side in my head. I'd ask her about it later.

"Where's Yuzu taking Inoue?" I asked Karin, who was just lazily sitting at the table, as if she had nothing better to do. She just shrugged.

"How am I supposed to know? I'm not Yuzu or Orihime-chan." She put on a frustrated face. "That reminds me, shouldn't you be calling Orihime-chan by her first name?" She asked. I felt my face turn red, but I tried to keep my cool.

"Why is that any concern of you anyway?" I retorted to her, furrowing my eyebrows together.

"Well, she wouldn't be staying here if you two weren't that great of friends. You call Tatsuki-chan by her first name, so why not Orihime-chan?" She continued. Dad popped up in front of me, punching me in the chin.

"I know whyyyy!!!" He yelled in a sing song voice. I kicked him back, holding my chin.

"S-shut up!" I yelled back at him. "You don't know anything!" He didn't respond to my kick, but he ran over to the poster of mom that hung on the wall.

"Oh my dear Masaki!! Soon our fourth daughter will be official!! She will be Orihime Kurosaki! Won't that be wonderful?!" He sobbed to the piece of giant piece of paper.

O-Orihime Kurosaki?! Is he implying that Inoue and I would get married or something one day?! I punched him again, feeling very embarrassed.

"D-Don't be thinking such stupid things!!!" I yelled frustrated at him.

"Stupid things?" I heard a familiar sweet voice behind me. "Like what?" I turned around, still irritated.

"Like me and Inoue getting-" I stopped in mid-sentence, because the person behind me was Inoue herself. Her face got a bit red. "O-Oh, are you and Yuzu done talking." She appeared to smile brightly; her face still a bit flushed.

"Yup! It didn't take too long to talk, so here we are," She spoke, patting Yuzu's shoulder. I gave her an awkward smile. "Oh Kurosaki-san, what a lovely poster you have on the wall!" She smiled at my dad, skipping over to his side.

I didn't like this.

Inoue normally didn't act _this_ peppy. At least not recently.

_I really need to talk to her._ I mentally made another note to myself. _And soon._

"Yes, this is Masaki." He replied, patting the poster on the wall. "Isn't she beautiful?" I was still watching Inoue. Her face seemed to show a quick and subtle flinch of pain, before answering him.

"She's really is beautiful…" She answered softly.

"Yuzu, let's do homework now." Karin butted in. Yuzu's mouth was formed into the 'O'.

"Oh yes, I almost forgot!" She responded somewhat enthusiastically. Now that I thought about it, I could use homework as an excuse to talk to Inoue alone. I _really _needed to talk to her about some important things.

"Oi, Inoue, we should do homework too," I spoke to her, scratching the back of my head. She looked very confused, because I knew that she knew she didn't have the homework at all. Since she was in Hueco Mundo at the time it was given.

_Bad thought. Push that memory out of your mind._

"Tatsuki gave me some homework earlier this week." I lied to her. I also had to apologize for lying. She pouted, nodded a bit. "We can get it done in my room." Her face appeared even redder.

"Why can't you two do homework down here?" Karin asked without looking up from her own.

"Because we won't have to worry about noise from you two, or that creep over on the wall there." I pointed to him. Karin silently said, "Ah," and I took Inoue's hand to lead her upstairs.

We were about halfway up the stairs when she asked me a question.

"What kind of homework did Tatsuki-chan give you?" I suddenly felt extremely guilty.

"We didn't get homework… I lied, I'm sorry." I explained. I felt her hand's grasp tighten in mine.

"T-Then why are you taking me upstairs?…" She asked another one, stuttering.

"I just wanted us to talk, is all…" I told her honestly.

"Oh…" She responded quietly. We were at the door to my room, and I opened it up. I motioned for her to go on ahead in, in which she nodded in response. I closed the door behind us, and we were left alone in my room.

* * *

A/N: Ew, gross way to end it.

**What comes up, must come down.**

Ya'll had the amazing chapter last chapter, so now you get a crappy one now. Sorry about that. I really did have trouble today with brainstorming and all. I couldn't think of ANYTHING. Sigh.

But if you have any cutesy ideas that you might want to share, send me a message or review with the idea, and I might take it into consideration, lol.

Please review, and thanks for reading!!


	13. Tell me the truth

A/N: Yay for IchiHime Bonding time!!

Also, I'm happy because I never had an _exact_ idea of where I wanted to go with this story, but I finally thought of an amazing way to go with this story.

And get this (You all will be happy about this): There will definitely be more chapters. :D Isn't that great??

Enjoy the chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 13**

**_Orihime's POV_**

My face was immensely hot as I entered Kurosaki-kun's room. I had just been in here not long ago, but I felt like it was more embarrassing now than before. I slowly sat on the floor, trying not to make my hip hurt worse in the process.

"Inoue, you know you can sit on the bed…" Kurosaki-kun muttered. I shook my hands at him.

"N-No, it's fine. I'm fine here." I told him honestly. I pulled my knees close to my body, despite the twinge of pain I felt in my hip. He just scratched his head again and sat down next to me, but kept some distance. "S-So… Um… What did you want to talk about?" I asked him, avoiding his gaze.

"I guess I just wanted to make sure everything was alright." I ran my hand through my hair. "I just had a thought that maybe you really didn't have the chance, or the right person, to talk about what happened at Hueco Mundo…" I felt my heart jump at what he said. "I might not be the best person, but I want to be there for you Inoue." He finished. My eyes drooped and I just zoned out at my toes.

"I'm fine… Everything is fine." I muttered to him, feeling hurt because I was lying to him. He took my head in his hand again, making me look at him directly.

_He knows something's wrong._

"Inoue, you don't just get out of a place like Hueco Mundo and come out unscathed, both mentally and physically." He told me, his eyes full of compassion.

_I don't want to burden him with my feelings…_

"And you not telling me anything just hurts me more." He paused, looking to the side. "I feel like you can't trust me." His sentence pulled at my heartstrings.

"K-Kurosaki-kun, I-It's not that, I do trust you," I stuttered to him. "I just don't want to dump my feelings on you." I pulled my head out of his grasp. "T-They're heavy enough for me alone, I-I don't want you to experience the same pressure." I pulled my body closer to myself, despite the throbbing pain in my hip.

"Inoue…" He took my head again in his hand, making me look at him once more. "When people like each other…" His face was now a bit red. "Don't they share feelings and thoughts with each other? Don't they share burdens as well?" He pulled me into a hug now. I didn't know if it was because he was embarrassed, or just wanted to. "Can't I help you?"

_He's not usually this open… It's probably all my fault, being so closed up to everything. To him._

"I-I don't want to burden you." I bit my lip; feeling tears at the corners or my eyes. "At all."

"Then we'll never get anywhere, Inoue. We won't be able to be with each other." He spoke. And what he said was the truth, I knew that. I still didn't want to cause him pain, nor be the cause of him turning into a hollow; the thing he hated most. I nodded into his shoulder.

_He only told me he loved me no more than an hour ago, and we're already having a dispute._

"I-I know…"

"Then why are you so resistant?" I jumped at his statement, which only resulted in him hugging me even tighter. "Can't you be honest for once?"

_He sounds so angry… But why couldn't I be honest? I wasn't even truthful with myself, and I only knew that lead to more pain. What was my reason?_

I backed away from his hug, putting my hands on his chest to create some distance between us. I felt a sudden feeling of confidence, but it was depression confidence. Probably only a fake front of mine again.

"Y-You want the truth?" I sobbed; secretly glad I put my hair up earlier. I knew I'd cry again. I'll always be crying, because I'm so weak. He nodded at me, with a fierce look in his eyes.

"Tell me Inoue." I looked him straight in the eyes.

"I-I don't want to be the reason," I paused, his face now quizzical. "The reason you turn into your hollow self." His eyes got big. I choked back more tears. "You got so hurt at Hueco Mundo, and you always had to become the thing you hated most." I wiped away my leftover tears with one hand. "All because I'm weak and useless." His grasp on my body seemed to loosen up. I backed away even further, taking advantage of the new space.

"You wanted the truth," I spouted rudely. "Now you have it." He just stared at me with empty eyes. I pouted, my cheeks still wet. "I'm leaving, if that's all you need to talk about." I started to stand up, but he grabbed my wrist, pulling me back down into another hug, burying his face in my shoulder.

"I'm sorry…" He barely whispered. "I didn't realize you were carrying around _that_ strong of feelings…" His hands were on my back, and the place he was touching felt like it was on fire.

_It took you a while to realize a lot_. I thought bitterly to myself.

"But…" He continued, pulling himself away to give me a weak smile. "I'm glad you're telling me the truth."

"Y-You can tell when I'm lying?" I asked him. Lately I lied to him a lot, so if he knew every single time I lied to him, that I wasn't telling the truth.

_He'd be so frustrated with me. _

"I can tell when something is up." He muttered. "Besides your reiatsu, I mean." He paused, holding onto my hands now. "You feel a bit better though, don't you?"

Now that he mentioned it, I did. I was frustrated right now with my self and I felt incredibly weak, but my chest didn't hurt as much now. My mind felt a bit less cloudy as well.

My face turned red a bit, as I nodded to him. I bit my lip. Why hadn't I realized that talking about my feelings would make me feel better? I mean, I'd always be fine to an extent when I suffered alone, but I never imagined that I would actually feel more decent after talking.

I looked up at me, and he was giving me weak, half-smile.

"Anything else bothering you?" He asked me.

_Yes…_

"Nope." I lied to him again. But he knew, and he pinched my sides, causing me to jump. Why did I have to be so ticklish?

"Liar." He pulled at my sides to pull me closer to him. "Tell me the truth."

"But-" I retorted, but was cut off by his finger on my lips.

"No buts. Talk to me." He spoke normally.

_At least he sounds somewhat normal again._

"Seriously?" I asked him, asking him a second time. He just pinched my cheek as a response. "Ow-ow-ow-ow, that huuuurtts!" I whined in pain as he scowled at me.

"No more stalling. Talk." He spoke, letting go of my cheek. I nodded to him, rubbing the spot on my face he had just pulled at. I looked around his room again, suddenly remembering the night before I left for Hueco Mundo. I had confessed my love that night, and looking at it now, I was much closer to Kurosaki-kun than before.

"U-Um… Where to begin…" I pouted, really trying to think of where to start.

"Maybe telling me about why you've been crying so much lately?" He snorted, giving me a suggestion. I couldn't tell if he was serious or not. Either way, he sounded really sarcastic, and it was almost sounding like he didn't care that much.

"Uh, nightmares… Mostly." I paused. "Or thinking too much."

"Nightmares about what?" He questioned, his voice sounding a bit gentler now.

"Aizen, Arrancar…" I bit my lip. I had repeated this so many times, I felt like it was getting a bit old. "Um… You." He stiffened up.

"… Are you having nightmares of what I'm thinking about?" He asked me. The look he had in his eyes seemed like pain. He knew what I had nightmares about. I nodded to him.

"Sorry…" He scratched his head.

"It's not your fault…" He muttered. "Is that why you haven't been sleeping well?" I nodded to him again. I tried to shift the subject a bit.

"I-I had a good sleep though this morning, after I talked with your dad earlier. I don't know what made it different though…" I put my index finger on my chin, trying to think of the different factor. Kurosaki-kun's face turned red.

"W-well, I put you in my room after you fainted from your fever." He muttered. "I know how creepy those patient rooms can be sometimes, and I figured you'd get a good night's sleep in here better than there." He explained, clearly embarrassed. My face got hot, and I nodded to him again.

"I-I see…" I replied. It got quiet again.

"So…" He continued, looking very embarrassed. "You can stay in here, if you want…" He looked off to the side, scratching his head. "I think the rest of my family know what's up, so they probably wouldn't care if you were in here. Unless you didn't want to…" I shook my head at him, very embarrassed.

"N-No, I wouldn't want to intrude on you or anything more than I already am." Secretly, I wouldn't have minded it at all.

"It's fine. Plus you can use the extra bed we have… The only other place would be the closet, but you wouldn't want to be in there, despite what Rukia thinks." He explained. Rukia?

"What Rukia-chan thinks?" I asked, very confused. He nodded at me.

"Yeah, Rukia stayed in my closet for a while, until my family found out about her. I'm saying that she probably thought it was pretty comfortable." I felt a sharp twinge of pain at my heart.

_Rukia-chan was already so close to Kurosaki-kun, even when I really didn't know him that well._

"A-Ah… I see." I stuttered.

_Don't show pain. Don't show hurt. You'll be fine. _I reminded myself.

"I-I'm perfectly fine in the current room I'm in." I barely manage to choke out the words normally. "P-Plus it's the room you said I'd stay in when I'm here, so I'll stay there." Kurosaki-kun looked a little hurt.

_Why would he be the one hurt? I care about Kurosaki-kun's feelings, but Tatsuki-chan says I need to worry about mine first._

"Inoue… What if I asked you to stay here?" His face looking even more embarrassed. I felt my heart do a flip.

_What should I say?_

"I-I still wouldn't want to intrude…" I told him politely. He still looked a bit pained. "But…" My face heated up more, and his expression changed after I continued. I changed my glance to the side. "I'd like it very much…" Now I really didn't want to look at him. I felt super embarrassed. "I think I'll go downstairs now…" I mumbled, standing up again.

"Wait." He spoke. I turned to look at him, trying to keep a straight face on. He didn't look at my face, but he looked at my general waist area, which made my super uncomfortable.

"W-What's wrong?" I tried to hide the fact that he was looking at me strangely. He poked my hip that I had hurt earlier, causing me to flinch in discomfort.

"I knew it." He muttered.

"K-Knew what?" I stuttered to him, still trying to hide my injury. He pulled me down a second time.

"You're hurt, you idiot. Did you think you could hide it from me?" He asked, slightly irritated.

"Yes…" I mumbled the truth to him. He sighed in frustration, leading me to his back.

"Get on."

"W-W-What?" I stuttered profusely, now extremely embarrassed.

"It hurts for you to walk. I'll carry you downstairs." He explained, pointing to his back. "Now get on or I'll pinch your cheek again." He threatened. His previous cheek pinch _did_ hurt a lot, so I slowly wrapped my arms around his neck. He suddenly picked me up and we were on our way back downstairs. I looked at the back of his neck while thinking to myself.

_I wonder how long he's been secretly watching over me…_

_I kind of like it._

* * *

A/N: **gags** Ugh, another terrible chapter. I'm sooooo sorry. I hope it'll get better soon.

Maybe.

Guh, sorry.

Please review, and thank you for reading.


	14. Pink Bras and Stuffed Lions

A/N: Ich liebe dich~

Woot, another chapter. Sorry, it stinks though. (When I say that, I mean I've had better chapters, and I'm not really fond of this one.)

Hopefully any questions you had will be answered in this chapter. If you had any.

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 14**

**_Orihime's POV_**

I lay on the extra cot in Kurosaki-kun's room, listening to him breath as he slept.

I hadn't been able to sleep at all so far, I just felt too embarrassed, just being so close to Kurosaki-kun. Even more so since he was sleeping.

His family had been okay with it, me staying in his room. They didn't ask any unnecessary questions. Kurosaki-san might have been a bit too enthusiastic about it though.

-----

_Kurosaki-kun was bringing me down the stairs when he asked me a question._

"_Hey Inoue, if you hurt your hip, why didn't you just use Sōten Kisshun to heal it?" I didn't see his face when he asked me, but I could hear the concern in his voice. I forced a laugh._

"_Ah, I forgot about that." I tried to make my voice sound as realistic as possible. "I'll do it later, I promise." I put on a smile, regardless of if he could actually see it or not. We got to the final step and saw Karin-chan and Yuzu-chan at the table, still doing homework._

"_Creepy…" Karin-chan muttered to Kurosaki-kun as we entered the room. She had a disgusted expression on her face._

"_Well I think it's cute." Yuzu-chan retorted, causing my face to burn from embarrassment behind Kurosaki-kun's shoulders._

"_Shut up… She got hurt earlier, so I'm helping her." Kurosaki-kun explained to them. Karin-chan shook her head at us._

"_Still creepy…" Karin-chan spoke quietly, returning to her homework. Kurosaki-kun just groaned, sounding like he didn't want to get into a fight. He pulled out a chair and I slid off his back, onto the seat._

"_Thank you Kurosaki-kun." I put on another smile. He looked at me with a serious expression, then proceeded to sigh and leave the room. I propped my head on my hands and sighed myself, now facing Karin-chan and Yuzu-chan. They just looked at me funny._

"_Boy, you're really smitten." Karin-chan spoke, giving me a goofy smile. Yuzu-chan nudged her in the side. My face got hot._

"_Nothing's wrong with being in love, right Orihime-neechan?" She asked me, her face a bit red as well. I knew why it was. When she asked me to talk to her earlier, she wanted my opinion on what to do about the guy she liked. I thought it was cute, and told her my opinions on the matter._

"_Of course it's fine, my dear son!!" Kurosaki-san exclaimed from the other room. "Just none of that "shifty" stuff I told you about earlier, alright? I don't want to be a grand-"_

"_Shut up!!" I heard Kurosaki-kun yell back. He quickly came back into the dining room, clearly looking very flushed._

"_I-Is everything alright?" I stuttered to him, very confused._

"_It's fine… I got the okay too." He muttered, looking very embarrassed._

"_Okay for what?" Yuzu-chan asked._

"_Nothing…" He replied to her, and left quickly out of the room._

_-----  
_

I sighed lightly to myself, still making sure I was quiet. To be honest, when asked me about my Sōten Kisshun, I almost wanted to start crying again.

Ever since I got back from Hueco Mundo, I haven't been able to use any of my abilities, and I didn't know entirely why. My guess was that I used up most of my energy at the time I made the Hōgyoku go away, and I just needed to 'replenish' it. But it's already been a week, so it should have been fine. I really have tried to make my 'guardians' come out, but nothing happens. I really missed all of them. I felt a single tear roll down my cheek. Just thinking about it made me sad.

I rolled onto my side and closed my eyes, hoping I would be able to sleep decently for once.

------

_I was back on the grassy field again, only this time everything was dead. It all looked like it had burned down._

"_You foolish girl." I heard a familiar, sinister voice from behind me. I turned around to see who it was. No one was there._

"_You honestly thought you and your friends could get rid of me?" I heard the voice again. I continued to look around, but there was still source from where the voice was from._

"_You humans are so interesting." I heard a different voice this time, and it was right behind me. I turned around again to see who it was._

_It was Ulquiorra. And he had his finger pointed right at my forehead._

"_You think Aizen-sama would be defeated so easily? He may be gone physically, but he's still right here." He spoke, starting to charge up a Cero with his finger._

_I closed my eyes, ready to embrace the pain, but when I opened up my eyes again, he was gone, and I was now in a white room. Aizen was standing right in the middle._

"_You thought I had no use for you, but I do. You didn't realize it, but the longer you were in Hueco Mundo, the more my being was absorbed into your mind." He chuckled to himself. "And now there's only one way to get rid of me."_

_The floor underneath me suddenly vanished and the only thing I heard as I fell was, _

"_Talk to you soon Orihime."_

_-----  
_

I shot up at the sound of the alarm clock that woke me up. I was panting heavily and I was sweating profusely. I looked over at Kurosaki-kun in his own bed, and he was groaning, muttering, "No… I can't… Ah, okay, if you say so…" into his pillow. What he was actually dreaming about only left me baffled. I shook my head and focused back on myself.

I was shaking, and I didn't know why. Shaking, and waking up sweating and panting. Must have been some dream…

Like a bad dream.

_I know I had a bad dream, but why can't I remember any of it? _I shook it off; thinking my weariness was just from shock from the sudden blaring alarm.

The alarm went off a second time, and this time, Kurosaki-kun woke up and hit the snooze button.

"Morning Inoue…" I heard a disgruntled voice from Kurosaki-kun. I nodded, even though he had his face buried in his pillow.

"Good morning." I tried to sound happy, but kept somewhat quieter in case others were still sleeping. I was still feeling shaken up by the dream I couldn't remember.

"Wake up Ichigo!!!" I heard a muffled voice from the closet. "It's time for your daily wake-up call!" Suddenly a blur of yellow flew past my fast, flying out of the closet, and landed on Kurosaki-kun.

"Kon, go away." Kurosaki-kun's voice murmured out to the talking stuffed animal.

_Apparently Kurosaki-kun isn't a morning person…_

"So… You're Kon?" I asked in a quiet voice. The stuffed animal turned around slowly, now standing on Kurosaki-kun's back. I vaguely remembered him.

"O-O-Orihime-chan!!" He flew at me, grasping me in a small hug. Since he was as small as he was, he could only hug my chest. I blushed in embarrassment. It was only a plushie, right? "I didn't know you were staying in Ichigo's room! It's so nice to have you here as well, instead of that grump lying on that bed." He spoke while nuzzled into my chest.

"U-Um, Kon, could y-you please…" I stuttered to him. "Um…" It only felt like his hug was getting tighter, and the overall feeling made me very embarrassed.

"Let her go Kon." Kurosaki-kun muttered to the small toy, with a murderous look in his eyes. He was sitting up now, no longer lying down.

"Or you'll do what?" Kon spouted at him. Kurosaki-kun's hand came close to me to grab Kon. Even though it was only to grab Kon, the fact that Kurosaki-kun was getting that close to me _there_ was very embarrassing.

Kurosaki-kun peeled Kon off of me, leaving me very confused and flustered. Kurosaki-kun was giving Kon death glares until I spoke out.

"I-I-I'm going to go get ready for school!" I spoke to the two. "Since my clothes are still downstairs." I needed to get out of his room as quickly as possible, before I got any more flustered. They nodded and I left, closing the door swiftly behind me.

_What a bad way to start a morning…_ I sighed heavily to myself. I thought about the patient room that still contained my clothes. I planned on keeping my suitcases in there, only because I was using Kurosaki-kun's room for sleep, not moving in entirely in his room. Though I did blush at the thought.

I limped off to the room, hoping I would be able to shake off this strange, but scary feeling I kept in my heart.

* * *

**_Ichigo's POV_**

As soon as Inoue closed the door, I threw Kon on the floor and stepped on him.

"Way to freak her out, you damn toy." I growled at him.

"Why is she here anyway?" He barely managed to say under my foot.

"Her apartment is being renovated, and she needed a place to stay." I told him. "I don't know why I need to explain this to you though." I crossed my arms, scowling at him.

"No, why is she in your room?" He squeaked again. "Not that I mind."

"Like I said, I'm not explaining myself to you." I lifted my foot up.

"Is she going to be in here every night?" He asked me, having shimmer in his eyes. I didn't like that shimmer.

"Maybe… Why?" I stretched while speaking to him, still waking up.

"Oh… No reason." A smirk appeared on his face. I knew that face. It was the expression he always had on when he saw a pretty girl. I gave him a murderous look.

"If you think about touching Inoue like that again, I'll kill you."

"You're just jealous that it wasn't you." He spouted. "Oh how soft they were…" He started to have a nosebleed. "They were even softer than I imagined, and she didn't even push me away."

"Inoue never pushes anyone away. Unfortunately, that's both a positive and a negative thing about her." I explained, feeling my face get hot.

"Again, you only wish it was you." He bragged, hopping onto the bed. I blushed even harder.

_No, now isn't the time to have bad thoughts about Inoue._

_**You know you just had a naughty dream about her, why not daydream a bit more about her rack? The stuffed lion makes a good point.**_

_Shut up, shut up._

"Yuzu it is." I picked him up, now embarrassed by my hollow and Kon.

I opened the door, yelling out to Yuzu. "Yuzu! I found your toy in here again. I think you should carry him around everywhere with you so make sure you don't lose him again." She poked her head out of her room, smiling.

"Bostov! I was looking for you all over the place!" She picked him up very enthusiastically. "I'll never let you out of my sight again!" I could tell he was mentally cursing me, promising revenge. As an inanimate object that stood less than a foot tall, I figured he couldn't do any damage to me.

"Ichigo! Keigo and Mizuiro are here!" My dad yelled from the bottom of the stairs.

"Shit, are you serious?" I muttered angrily to myself. I looked out my window, peering down into the street. Yup, the old man was right. Keigo and Mizuiro were both in the street. Keigo was waving enthusiastically to me while Mizuiro was texting on his cell phone.

"We'll be out in a minute! Sorry guys!" I yelled out to them, but I immediately regretted saying it right away. Why? Because I said 'We', not 'I'. They didn't know about Inoue staying here. Still furious with myself, I quickly changed out of my pajamas and into my school clothes, glad I had set them out the night before.

As soon as I finished, I bolted out my door and flew down the stairs. I practically ran to Inoue's room, yelling to Yuzu that we wouldn't be able to eat breakfast as I ran past. I got to her room and didn't bother knocking, I just opened it.

Bad idea.

Inoue was just pulling her shirt on, and I saw a quick glimpse of her bra. Her face turned red and so did mine. I quickly slammed the door shut.

"S-S-Sorry… Keigo and Mizuiro and here… I'll be waiting outside with them," I told her through the door, extremely embarrassed, but slightly pleased.

_**So she wears a pink bra… That's hot, though I prefer black better.**_

_Shut it. I don't want to hear more of that right now._

_**You know you like it. You know you like her.**_

My face was on fire, and I didn't notice that I go to the front door until I ran into it.

"Damn door…" I muttered under my breath. I slipped on my shoes and my winter jacket. Considering it was still winter, bundling up would be a wise idea. Even if I was extremely hot from seeing a semi-bare Inoue. I opened the door to have Keigo fly at me.

"Ichiiiigooooooo!!" He cried. "I missed you sooooo much!" I punched him in the face, like usual. Of course he was up to his usual antics.

"Why is your face red, Ichigo?" Mizuiro asked without looking up from his phone.

"It's nothing." I lied to them. He shrugged, and started walking.

"We'll be late if we don't start walking." He spoke nonchalantly. I spoke out to stop him.

"Wait! We can't go yet." I told him. He finally looked up from his phone, with a curious expression on his face.

"Why not? We're all here and accounted for." He explained. I shook my head.

"We're not. A friend… Is staying here." I spoke to them, feeling my face heat up even more.

"S-sorry Kurosaki-kun…" Inoue's voice rang in my ears. "I-I took longer than I'd expected…" I turned around to look at her. Her cheeks had a pink tint to them. Keigo just rudely pointed at her.

"W-W-W-W-Why is Inoue-san staying at your place!?!" He exclaimed. I sighed heavily, and started walking. Along the way to school, Inoue explained the _most _of the entire story to them, leaving Keigo in awe for the rest of the day.

* * *

A/N: Weird chapter again, lol. This is where it starts to get good.

I hope.

I think.

Whatever.

Anywho, please review! Thank you so much for reading! I love you all!


	15. Less Lies, More Kisses

A/N: I really do love you guys. You are amazing~ (Almost) 4,000 hits, and +100 reviews. :D

I'm attempting to stockpile my chapters, so hopefully I'll get on a pattern where they're will be a new chapter out everyday. And it'll be DURING the day too! When people are actually awake! But with my nature, there might be some days where I post more than one a day... Like this chapter is a good example. I submitted the first one this morning, and I submitted this next one, right now, lol.

Oh, and some of you may ask how I write stuff so fast. For one, I'm just a naturally fast typer, and two, I have a good idea of what I want to write. After I write a big portion of my chapter, I go back and re-read everything, making sure it all looks good, then proceed to write more. That way, when I'm done, I can just re-read the stuff that hasn't been looked over yet, and viola.... Or something. Anywho.

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 15**

**_Orihime's POV_**

I sighed heavily as I took my seat in class, putting my head on the desk. I couldn't explain it, but I was suddenly left really tired. I suppose a lot did happen since I woke up. I shuddered as I continued to feel the bizarre, creepy feeling like someone was watching me.

"Orihime!" I heard Tatsuki-chan's voice. I looked up, and saw her waving at the door. She started to come over here, until she saw Kurosaki-kun. Then she stopped, gave him a scowl, and I could see her mouthing the words, "Morning," to him. She continued her way over here and smiled as soon as she saw me.

"Good morning Orihime, how are you today?" She smiled brightly.

"Um… Not to be rude, but who are you and what have you done with Tatsuki-chan?" I asked politely. "Just because Tatsuki-chan isn't normally this peppy." She just laughed at me.  
"I'm just happy because all these years of my hard work has finally paid off." She explained to me, giving me thumbs up.

"Hard work?…" I asked her confused. She gave me a smirk.

"Of getting you and Ichigo together." She spoke. I jumped at what she said.

"Y-Y-Y-You're thinking Kurosaki-kun and I are together?" I laughed madly at her, but still kept my voice down. "T-T-T-That's preposterous!"

"You know, your stuttering is only making it less believable."

"I know…" I sighed to myself, putting my head back on the desk. I was a terrible liar.

"At least you're easier to read now…" She spoke, as she sat in the spot in front of me. I looked up at her with raised eyebrows, as a sign of confusion. She continued, "Remember before the party, I told you that I couldn't tell what you were thinking anymore?" I nodded in response. "Well, I'll just say that I'm glad things are more obvious now."

"Ah…" I just replied nonchalantly, putting me head down once more.

"Are you okay?" She questioned, sounding concerned.

"I'm tired… And I don't feel well, for multiple reasons." I explained to her.

"Care to share? We have a few minutes before the teacher gets here."

"Well, I hurt my hip yesterday… So I'm having trouble walking with that." I stated my first reason.

"Ah… Can't you just use that secret magical voodoo power you have to make it all better?" She asked. I looked up at her, trying to hold back my tears again. Again, remembering it made me want to cry again.

"Kurosaki-kun told you about that?" I asked her. I know I definitely didn't tell her of that. She nodded.

"I told you, he told me everything." She explained. I bit my lip, again, cursing myself for that bad habit.

"Promise not to tell." I asked her seriously.

"Promise." She said. I held out my pinky anyway.

"Pinky swear." I asked her. I was dead serious about telling her. She nodded, taking her pinky into mine.

"You can't tell anyone, especially Kurosaki-kun, but…" I bit my lip again. "I don't have my powers anymore, and I don't know why." Her mouth dropped.

"What?!" She exclaimed, suddenly making it silent in the rest of the room. Kurosaki-kun was looking at us, very concerned, from across the room. "Oh… Crap." She whispered to me. "What are you all looking at? Can't two girls have a friendly conversation?" She asked the rest of the class. They all looked at us awkwardly after that, and went back to their normal things. Kurosaki-kun kept looking at me though. I forced a weak smile to him, waving my hand at him. He just waved back, and continued talking to Sado-kun and Ishida-kun.

"So yeah… Please don't tell anyone, it's really important to me that it's a secret… For now." I told her. She nodded to me as the teacher came into the room, greeting us all happily. Tatsuki-chan waved to me and went to her normal seat.

"Welcome back everyone! I'm glad to see no one froze over Winter Break." Ochi-sensei smiled at us. "Before we get started on anything though, we'll be getting new seats, so everyone stand up and draw a number." She spoke as she pulled out the usual box with the seat numbers. I stood up hesitantly, making sure I wasn't hurting myself more. Every one started to draw a number, and since I was being so slow, I was the last person to draw one.

"It's good to see you back, Inoue." Ochi-sensei commented as I picked the final number. "Is everything alright now?" I flipped open the piece of paper, seeing what number it was, and nodded to her.

"I think so… We'll see though." I put on a smile and turned around, seeing where I was and whom I was sitting by.

I got lucky. Maybe a little _too _lucky though.

I had the last seat in the last row, back corner, next to the window. I saw a familiar head of orange hair in the spot in front of me. I felt my face heat up.

I was in a more secluded spot _and_ I was sitting behind Kurosaki-kun. And then I realized I was even luckier when Tatsuki-chan was waving to me, pointing to the seat next to her.

So I sat down in my seat, with Kurosaki-kun sitting in front of my seat, and Tatsuki-chan on my side. I sighed lightly to myself at my luck, and we began our lesson.

During mid-lesson, Kurosaki-kun handed me a piece of paper.

_Let's eat lunch together on the staircase leading to the roof._

The note was short and simple.

_That's so like Kurosaki-kun… _I thought to myself.

I blushed at his note, and folded it back up, putting it in my desk. After that, I started to daydream about him for the rest of the lesson.

-----

"Hey, Orihime, where are you going?" Tatsuki-chan asked me as I started to leave the classroom without her. I forced a smile.

"I'm going to the roof to eat lunch with Kurosaki-kun." I told her. Her mouth formed into a small 'O', and she shooed me off.

I left the classroom sliding the door closed behind me. I was happy to be able to have lunch alone with Kurosaki-kun, but I had a rattling fear in my heart, like someone was still watching me. Watching my every single move. And the worst part was, is that I couldn't shake off the feeling.

I tried to push those thoughts out of my head and made my way up the staircase leading to the roof. Unfortunately though, about mid-way up the steps, I fell flat on my face.

"Ooowwwiee." I mumbled to myself, rubbing my nose.

_Great… Another pain to add on the pile. _I thought bitterly to myself. I stood back up and dusted off my clothes. Though still in pain, I finally managed to make it up the last step where Kurosaki-kun was.

"Hey Inoue." He spoke quietly to me. I nodded to him and sat down opposite of him.

"Hi Kurosaki-kun…" I leaned my head against the wall. Why was I feeling so tired?

"Sorry we couldn't eat outside," He said. "But it being winter and all, it's kind of cold." I forced another smile onto my face.

"N-No, it's fine. It's common sense, right?" I replied in a softened tone. I closed my eyes for a bit.

"Ah… Yeah…" I heard Kurosaki-kun starting to eat, then he stopped to speak.

"Don't you have lunch today? I mean, I know we got out of the house late, but I think they still have stuff downstairs." I shook my head.

"I'm not hungry." I told him. I actually felt sick to my stomach, and I think it was from that pressure of feeling someone watching me.

"Inoue, you really should eat." He replied, sounding a bit angry. I continued to keep my eyes closed.

"I'd rather rest than eat right now. I promise I'll eat a lot later." I spoke to him. He still sounded irritated.

"Did you not sleep well last night?" I opened my eyes to look at him.

"I slept fine. I remember having a bad dream, but I can't recall what it was about is all." I fiddled with my fingers. "Otherwise I slept fine." I tried to change the subject to him. "How did you sleep?"

His face turned bright red, which caused mine to turn slightly pink as well.

"N-Never mind… Sorry I asked." I apologized to him, folding my arms across my chest.

"Come over here."

"What?" I asked, very confused.  
"Here, now." He demanded. I stood up wearily, not sure of what he was going to do. I took it slow, until he got mad. "Hurry, before I change my mind."

"What? Change your mind on wha-" I tried asking him again, but he cut me off by pulling my wrist closer, and made me fall straight into his lap. I turned bright red.

"W-W-W-What are you doing?" I asked, starting to get a bit irritated myself. I was more or less upset with myself, not Kurosaki-kun.

"Stop struggling and just rest." He spoke quietly, putting his hand over my eyes. "I'll wake you up when lunch is over."

"I-I-I-I'm fine Kurosaki-kun, I don't need to rest." I stuttered, trying to reason with him.

"Inoue." He spoke sternly. Okay, definitely no reasoning with him. I bit my lip and closed my eyes.

It was only a matter of moments until I met the familiar thing called sleep.

-----

"_Nice to see you again, Orihime." I heard Aizen's voice in front of me. I opened my eyes to see his evil face only a few feet in front of me. I was back in the white room again._

"_What do you want with me?" I spouted at him. "I have nothing you want."_

"_Oh but you do." With the flick of his wrist an image of Kurosaki-kun appeared before us. "You have Ichigo Kurosaki, right?" I felt tears at the corner of my eyes._

"_You wouldn't…" I felt my voice wavering. He just smirked._

"_Oh, but I would." He made the image disappear._

"_You're dead, it's not like you can do anything." I told him off, still trying to hold back my tears. He raised his hand up.  
"But __you__ can." All of a sudden, my body was moving in coordination with his hand._

"_Thank you for your cooperation, Orihime." He smiled bitterly at me. "Soon we'll be able to do this." He used his other hand to make another image appear._

_It was a picture of Kurosaki-kun._

_Lying in a puddle of blood._

"_Inoue…" I heard his voice from the image. He could barely talk. _

"_Inoue." _

_-----  
_

"Inoue." Kurosaki-kun shook me awake. I shot up from my sleep again, looking around madly, trying to figure out where I was.

_A-Aizen… He's still alive… _I felt a sharp shooting pain in my heart, feeling immense fear.

"Inoue, what's wrong?" I turned around and Kurosaki-kun was looking at me very concerned. He reached his hand out to touch me once more, but I backed away from him.

"I-I-I-It's fine." I barely managed to choke out. "J-J-J-Just stay away from me for a moment…" He got closer and pulled me into a tight hug.

"It's clearly not okay." He spoke calmly, trying to comfort me. "Tell me what happened." I tried to push away from him. If I stayed near him now, he would definitely become hurt like the picture I saw in my dream.

I opened my mouth to say, 'Aizen'.

But I suddenly couldn't remember what I was trying to say.

Nothing.

_What was I trying to tell him?_

"What's wrong?" I asked him looking up at him from the hug. My face was red. "W-Why are we hugging?" He looked at me worried, and really confused.

"You freaked out after I woke you up." He put some distance between us. "You looked like you were really afraid of something. Can't you remember?" He looked at me oddly. I shook my head at him, my face still hot.

"Nope… But don't you think I would have remembered something as _intense_ as that?" I joked to him, putting on a silly face. He just looked at me seriously.

"Whatever… If you're going to joke around, then apparently you're all better." He spoke, giving me a small smirk.

"I do feel a bit better." I mumbled to him. He pulled me close again, and planted a light kiss on my forehead.

"A-ah…" I moaned in surprise, and immediately slapped my hands on my mouth, embarrassed at the noise that just came from my throat. He backed away, his face really red.

"D-Don't make noises like that…" He looked away, clearly very embarrassed. "It's too…" He trailed off. I was going to ask him what he said, but after seeing the look on his face, I thought it was best not to ask.

I nodded to him, hearing the last lunch bell ring. I stood up swiftly and started on my way down the stairs. I forced a smile on my face and extended my hand to him. He took it and gave me a small smile.

-----

"I'm so tiiiireed." I complained as we walked into the house. I slid off my shoes and my winter coat.

"But you took a nap at lunch." Kurosaki-kun replied to me, sounding a bit surprised.

"I know, that's what bothers me. I don't have a good reason to be tired." I huffed at the situation. He gave me a smirk and patted my head.

"I'm glad to see your mood is better though." His hand that was on top of my head, started to travel down, brushing my cheek lightly. I nodded to him, putting on a small smile.

"Ichiiiigoooooo!" Kurosaki-san yelled at Kurosaki-kun, sending him a flying kick. "Welcome home!" Kurosaki-kun caught his kick and sent him flying backwards.

_That must of hurt… _I winced in seeing his pain. Kurosaki-san limped back over to us with a big smile on his face. He suddenly looked at me with a serious expression on his face.

"W-What?" I asked him, wondering what was wrong. He looked at me intensely.

"What's wrong?" Kurosaki-kun asked him as well. "Is something wrong with Inoue?" Kurosaki-san looked back at his son, then back at me. His face erupted into a big grin.

"Nope. Nothing wrong." He spoke to us, and proceeded to flick a finger at my head.

"O-Owwie!" I squeaked, putting my hands on the pain point on my forehead.

"Welcome home Orihime-chan." He smiled.

"What the hell was that for??" Kurosaki-kun got angry with his dad. "You made me really worried about her!" He sent a punch to Kurosaki-san's face. My face got hot at the mention of Kurosaki-kun being worried about me.

"You mean you were never concerned about her leg?" Kurosaki-san asked him, pointing to me.

_What? How did he realize?_

"You're probably wondering how I knew Orihime-chan. I told you, I'm a doctor. I have a keen eye for injuries and other ailments." He explained, winking at me. Even though he explained it to me, it didn't make me feel any better.

I looked back over at Kurosaki-kun. He just looked at me with a very furious expression on his face.

"I already knew about her leg, I just thought it healed up already." He muttered back to his dad. "Come here Inoue." He grabbed my wrist and started to pull me upstairs, towards his room. As he pulled me, my hip started to throb in pain again. I bit my lip, hating myself even more for lying to him again.

We got to his room and he forced me to sit on his bed.

"I though you said you were going to heal your hip with Sōten Kisshun." He spoke to me with frustration in his voice.

"I know… I did…" I lied to him again. He grabbed my shoulders.

"You didn't Inoue. You're still hurt." He spoke through his teeth. I shook my head.

"I'm fine, I'll be alrigh-" He cut me off with a kiss.

"Quit lying to me Inoue." He muttered, then resumed to kiss me again, only this time it was fiercer. His grip on my shoulders had gotten really tight.

"I-It hurts…" I mumbled in between kisses. "Please… Stop." I tried to ask. He immediately stopped, and his hands loosened up on my shoulders.

"Sorry…" He whispered, still sounding plenty angry. My face was hot, and I closed my eyes, trying not to cry again.

"Let me see it."

"Eh?! What??" I asked him, completely horrified and embarrassed. I shot my eyes open to look at him. He didn't seem embarrassed at all or anything. His expression showed that he was angry, concerned, and very serious. He shot his eyes up at me.

"Let me see it. Your hip." He spoke, keeping it short. I'm sure I was as red as a tomato now.

"B-B-B-But it's underneath my school uniform… You'll see my p-p-p-" I tried to reason with him, but he cut me off.

"I know, but I'd rather look at it myself then let my dad look at you." He sighed heavily. "I'm not going to do anything more, I promise." He looked up at me, and I saw a subtle gentle expression in his eyes. I bit my lip again and un-tucked my blouse, then proceeding to unzip the side of my skirt. Once it was it unzipped enough for him to see it, I crossed my arms tightly across my chest, and faced the opposite way with my eyes closed tightly.

"Damn… It's bruised pretty badly…" He muttered. I felt his hot fingers trail over the painful spot on my hip, causing me to jump slightly. "Ah… Sorry." He apologized.

I kept my mouth shut. Even though it really hurt, where he was touching, I, embarrassingly enough, really liked it. And goodness knows if I opened up my mouth now, who knows what kind of sound would come out. And then I really wouldn't know what he would do with me after that.

"So why don't you heal it with Sōten Kisshun?" He asked me again, his fingers still travelling over my bruise. I waited a moment before saying anything, just to make sure I didn't say anything embarrassing.

"I-I just wanted it to heal normally for once…" I barely managed to choke out.

_If he wants me to answer his questions, he should quit touching me like that…_

"I know you aren't telling the truth." He murmured. I winced in pain again as he touched the most painful spot on my hip. "But I'm not going to keep demanding that you tell me about it." He sounded irritated. I heard a zipper sound and I opened my eyes slightly. He was done looking at my injury, and was now looking at me.

"It just hurts when you don't tell me anything." I felt my heart drop as he said that. I shook my head, now feeling the ever-present tears fall down my cheeks.

"I-I'm sorry…" I pulled his shoulders close and hugged him. "I'm so sorry…" I sobbed. I felt his hands on my back, returning the hug.

"I'll explain everything soon…" I cried into his shoulder.

"I promise…"

* * *

A/N: I liked this chapter. :D Not as much as the confession one, but this one is a close second. Squueee, I can't get enough IchiHime lately, it makes me sad. Haha, mainly because there isn't enough "official" IchiHime stuff out by Kubo Tite. I can't WAIT till he/she gets back to the Hueco Mundo Arc, and out of this current Kukarakrakaaka Town Arc. (I'm not even going to bother with the actual name of it, lol.)

I'd like to thank all my reviewers again!

**Cakeesuki**

**Vigatus**

**Tia-Chan18**

**UlquiorraxOrihime**

**Copperheadfightingninja**

**The Anime Wolf**

**VergilTheart**

**Sweet Yet Painful**

**Agent-G**

**ThreeLetterSyndrom**

**Blitch**

**ksqu4rd**

**Miss "L"**

**IntimateWords**

**AlaeaMori**

**Lil' Evil Angel**

**985**

**ou no shingetsu**

**AsymmetricalPerfection**

**XXsnowfeltXx**

**Llyza**

**Back Porch**

**ReverIchihime**

**NGL**

**Enelya87**

**DancerGrl16**

**Perennial Lurker**

And an even more special thanks to those who have stuck by my side, reading (and possibly reviewing) every chapter, or multiple chapters. You know who you are, so give yourself a pat on the back. :D_** Maybe I'll make some IchiHime fanart for you all…**_ What do you think? Should I?

Please review and thank you SO much for all your time to read my lowly first Bleach fic.

I love you all~


	16. Unaware of My Actions

A/N: Teehee… I'm in such a giddy mood now. ****, lmao. I'm going to use my current hyper-ness to go on a writing spree~

I'm so excited~ I just joined an IchiHime forum community. And, uh… **sweatdrop** I'm credit where I found it, lol. But I'm not a creeper or nothing; I was just reading her profile, aha. (SubliminalMessage: READHERFICSREADHERFICS)

**Copperheadfightingninja**

She had a wonderful link to a wonderful forum. And I registered. And I is happy now. :D If you want to seek moi, my name is **Star-Chan**. I would love to see your profile/talk to you/have fun, if you have an account there.

Ack, I should really stop rambling. Here's the chapter.

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 16**

**_Ichigo's POV_**

"_I'll explain everything soon…" I felt hot tears fall onto my shoulder as she wept. "I promise…"_

Just remembering her cry made my heart ache in pain. I couldn't bear to see the person I loved most, cry her heart out.

But for what reason?

I had been lying in my bed for hours, trying to determine the explanation for it.

I looked over at her dark figure lying on the cot. She had surprised the hell out of me when she slipped under her covers, only wearing a tank top and a pair of, um, very short shorts. When she came into the room, I tried my best to hide my blush caused by her wardrobe.

She was facing my direction, so I could see her face somewhat clearly. Her eyebrows were furrowed and the area around her eyes looked swollen.

Probably from crying so much…

I wish she could be more open with me. I was trying to do my best to be up front with her. And it's not like I was asking for much… At least I didn't think it was much.

My eyes traveled down to her plump, pink lips. Her expression on her face only made me want to kiss them more. I blushed at the thought.

_**Boy King, you've gotten far with her just in a day. I'm impressed, though you probably could've gone all the way with her already.**_

_You forget that I'm not you. I want to treasure Inoue._

_**You could have done so much more though! You make me laugh with your, 'Let me see your hip' and 'I promise I won't do anything else' shit. I knew you were thinking about other things. I mean, you were very close to the prime jewel physically, if you get what I'm talking about.**_

_So maybe I think about Inoue in more ways than one. I don't love her for her body._

_**Yeah, well I do.**_

_I don't think it's considered love if you just like one's body. It's called lust._

_**Either way, I'm still going to be here when you get all the way with her.**_

_You know you're awfully chatty tonight, what's with you? _My "discussion" with my hollow got short as I noticed Inoue was sitting up on her bed.

"Oi Inoue… Can't sleep?" I whispered to her. She looked at me with glazed eyes and proceeded to get up and come over to my bed.

"Hey… What are you doing?" I asked her, my face starting to heat up. I propped my upper body up on my elbows and she continued to crawl onto my bed. She didn't respond to me verbally, but she responded physically by sitting on my lower abdomen.

_**I've always liked a forward woman. One that knows what she wants. **_My hollow chuckled, insinuating that _that_ was what Inoue was doing.

"I-Inoue, what do you think you're doing?" I stuttered to her, my face heating up. She placed her hands on my chest and they slowly traveled up to my neck. I looked at Inoue again. She was still in a daze and her eyes were clouded over.

As I stared at her, her hands, which were on my neck, suddenly started exerting pressure, making it difficult to breathe.

She was trying to strangle me.

"I-Inoue." I choked out, grabbing her hands. It wasn't that I wasn't strong enough to lift her off, she just had a tight grip on my neck. "Inoue!!" I spoke louder, but still struggled to say. Her hands seemed to loosen up. I took the opportunity to grab her hands off my neck and held them together tightly, not letting go.

"Inoue, what's your problem?" I looked at her sternly, with my voice sounding furious. I _was _angry, because she tried to hurt me! I was lucky that I wasn't sleeping. I stared at her, and her eyes got wide.

"Kuro… saki-kun?" She muttered. "What's going on?" She seemed very confused.

"You tell me!" I spoke to her enraged, holding up her hands. "What were you thinking?"

"What was I thinking?" Her eyes got sad, still very bewildered. "Kurosaki-kun, I'm really confused." She sounded uneasy.

"Don't play dumb with me." I spouted at her. "You tried to strangle me." Her eyes got even bigger.

"I-I did that?" She asked, fearing what would come next, I'm sure. She tried to move away from me in dread.

"Yeah, you did. Why the hell would you try to hurt me?" She jumped at my angry voice. Not like she would have killed me anyway. I've been through death matches with Espada and survived. But the fact that she tried to attempt that still irked me. It would get anyone angry.

_**Calm down. I'm the crazy one here, I shouldn't have to be the one to tell you to take a chill pill.**_

_I know. I know…_

I sighed heavily as she started to speak. She was crying again.

"I-I don't know… I-I don't remember anything…" She sobbed. I let go of her hands, and she used them to wipe her tears away.

"Are you sure?" I tried to ask her more calmly. I was still furious on the inside though. She nodded, looking at her seriously. She looked up at me.

"W-Why would I try to hurt you at all?" She continued to cry. "I l-love Kurosaki-kun… You getting even s-slightly hurt would be the worst pain for me ever…" I felt a sharp shooting pain at my own heart.

She was right. After talking to her about what happened at Hueco Mundo, I should know for a fact she wouldn't want to do anything to hurt me, both mentally and physically. I pulled her into a tight hug.

"Do you remember anything at all?" I asked her, my face buried in her hair. She shook her head. I could still hear her crying.

"N-Nothing out of the normal…" She sniffed. "I went to sleep, and then I woke up here, in this current situation." She grasped my shirt and held it tight. "Oh I'm so sorry Kurosaki-kun… I'm so sorry." She cried heavily and I could feel her hot tears falling onto my shirt again. I held her even tighter.

Something was up. This wasn't normal of her… At least not normal of her recently.  
I was so sure that I was slowly getting her to a better state of mind, but this sudden turn of events seemed to make everything worse.

"K-Kurosaki-kun." She pulled away. Her eyes were full of tears, just like when we were back in Hueco Mundo, during my fight with Grimmjow. "I-I'm sorr-" I cut her off by kissing her. I seemed to be doing that a lot lately. She held onto the cloth of my shirt tightly, acting like she never wanted to let go.

"I-Inoue." I whispered to her between kisses. I caressed her cheek. She put her arms boldly around my neck, pulling me closer. "Call me Ichigo…" I muttered to her.

"Eh?" She asked, backing away very embarrassed, her face still wet with tears. "B-B-But that's your first name! Are you sure that's okay?" I smirked at her.

"Inoue, I think we're at the point were we don't need to call each other by our last names." I told her, pinching her cheek again. She nodded, wincing from the pain I just caused her. "Can I call you by yours?" I asked her, feeling a tad embarrassed myself. She nodded again, this time covering her face with her tiny hands. I could tell her face was red.

That was another thing I loved about her. Just getting embarrassed about the simplest things.

"I-I would be… Very happy, if you did." She spoke quietly. I gave her a small smile and kissed her cheek. She squeaked slightly in response. I laughed lightly at her. "H-Hey, that's not funny." She pouted, pounding one of her small fists against my chest. I took advantage of her pouted lips and went in for another kiss, which she accepted and returned as well.

My heart was beating so much, so hard; I could feel it through my entire body. Was this the feeling of love? Every kiss from her sent a shock to my mind, and I felt like everything was numb. I fiddled with the hem of her tank top as we kissed. She shifted slightly as a response.  
"Are you okay?" I asked her quietly. She nodded with a blush upon her cheeks.

"I'm fine…" She responded in the same tone. Her hair was sticking to her face, probably because of either her sweat or tears. Her eyes seemed to appear full of passion and love, but seemed to be closed about mid-way and her cheeks were a light shade of pink.

_**God dammit, this woman is seducing you. Just take her already! **_I heard my hollow complain, but I quickly suppressed him. Yes, I had an entirely new feeling for her all of a sudden, but I just told her I loved her yesterday. I didn't want to do something as serious as _that_ right now. Especially right now, despite how I was feeling mentally and physically.

I touched her cheek softly and kissed her once more. She loosened her grip on my shirt.  
"Kurosa-" She paused. "I-Ichigo…" I pulled away and looked at her. Her eyes were practically closed now. "I'm really tired all of a sudden." Of course it was late, but just one look at her, and you could tell she was beat. Part of it was probably my fault. I nodded to her.

"O-Okay… Just rest here, and you'll be fine by morning." I spoke to her almost silently, laying her down on my bed. She barely nodded in response. I lay down next to her, holding her close to my chest. She buried her head close to me, and I kept both of my hands on her back, wanting to keep her as close to me as possible.

"Good night Ichigo…" She barely spoke out to me. I nuzzled my face into her hair, murmuring back to her.

"Good night Orihime."

* * *

A/N: Short chapter, I know. Sorry. ;_; Pleaaase forgive me. It necessary though, because it's LOGIC peoples. Logic is telling me that the best way to end the chapter is what I wrote above.

And you'll find out the reason why in the next chapter.

Also, I think I really like posting my chapters at night instead of during the day, lol. I don't know why, I just do.

Please review~ Thank you so much for reading! PLEASE NO FLAMING. If you don't like it, then keep it to yourself.


	17. Terrible Revelation

A/N: Sorry the chapter is a bit late. _ I slept in this morning, and then I ended up being away from my computer all day, drrrr!

Omg, I don't have a lengthy rant to start this off!! D: Wait… Whoops.

Enjoy.

**

* * *

Chapter 17**

**_Ichigo's POV_**

I woke up to the sound of my alarm clock, blaring its usual nonsense. I smacked my hand around on my desk, trying to find it and hit the snooze, so I could have just a few more moments of rest.

Once I found it and successfully turned it off, I turned my sleepy attention to a certain auburn-haired healer nuzzled into my chest. My face got hot as I remembered the previous night's events.

"Orihime… It's time to wake up," I spoke groggily to her, shaking her shoulder lightly. My face got a bit hotter as I said her name. It was so different to call her by her first name instead of her last, but it was so much easier though as well. Her lips formed into a pouted expression. "We'll be late for school."

No response.

"Hime, if you don't get up, then who knows what I'll do to you." I jokingly threatened, not even knowing myself what I would do. Her cheeks seemed to get a bit more flushed.

Still, no reaction. I sat up, pulling her sleepy body into my lap.

"Orihime?" I tried shaking her awake again. This time, I heard her groan and she hugged my waist. I blushed even harder at her close proximity.

"More sleep…" She mumbled. I sighed and pinched her side, which immediately got her up. "That hurt!" She pouted, looking at me with serious, but sleepy eyes.

"It's your fault for not waking up." I mumbled to her, embracing her in a hug. I took in her scent as my head rested in the depths of her hair.

"You could have woken me up more nicely though…" She muttered back, sounding embarrassed and still tired. What skin she had exposed felt hot, and I had a desire that wanted to touch it more. I shoved those indecent thoughts down and out of my mind. This was not the best way to start the morning.

"W-We should probably get ready for school," I spoke softly into her auburn locks. I got no response. I pulled myself away from our hug to look at her. Her eyes were closed and…

She had fallen back asleep!! She fell asleep while sitting up!

"Hime, wake up." I pinched her sides again, and ended up with the same result as before.

"Ooowww." She mumbled, rubbing her waist in pain. "Quit doing that…" She slurred her words together.

"If you didn't fall back asleep, I wouldn't have to." I told her sternly. She nodded, her eyes glazed over again and her cheeks flushed. "Hey, you okay?" I asked her. I wasn't used to seeing her every morning as soon as she woke up, but she seemed sick or something now and this made me concerned.

"I'm just tired…" She mumbled back, letting her body collapse into mine. I put my hand on her forehead.

"You don't have a fever… Do you feel sick at all?" I asked her worriedly, taking into account that her forehead felt fine, temperature-wise.

"I already said I'm fine… Just tired." She replied in a more irritated tone, pushing herself off my chest, trying to steady herself. I held onto her arms for extra support. Someone suddenly came flying into my room. And unfortunately, the blur was all too familiar.

"Ichigo!! Good morning!!" My dad yelled out to me enthusiastically, waving his arms maniacally. His expression changed when he saw what was going on. "W-W-W-Why don't you listen to daddy when I say no shifty stuff!!" He pouted, obviously very 'upset'. I just scowled at him, feeling my face heat up again.

"It's not what you think, you bastard. Now get out before I kill you." I told him, very pissed off. Inoue just took her hands off of me and waved them in front of her chest.

"I-It's fine Kur- Ichigo-kun… I was just about to go." She spoke. I could tell she was putting on a fake mood. "We've still got school, right?" She got up hastily and proceeded to leave the room, leaving only dad and myself.

"Is she okay?" He asked me seriously. I put my head in a hand, scowling both him and myself.

"I'm not sure…" I replied, feeling very confused and concerned.

I knew this wasn't a normal Inoue, and not just the tired portion of it. With what happened last night and her being _overly_ tired wasn't normal for anyone.

_**I'm not normally one to put my 10 cents into a situation like this, but something seems fishy.**_

_Thank you Captain Obvious._

"Oh, Ichigo?" Dad's words snapped me out of my thoughts. I looked at him with an eyebrow raised.

"Listen to me when I say no sex."

"Dad!!"

**_

* * *

Orihime's POV_**

I practically fell into my seat once we got into the classroom. Kurosaki-kun had walked with me, by my side, since we left the house, making sure I was 'functioning' properly. He probably got mad at me though, because I fell 4 times on the way to school. Kurosaki-kun was now sitting in front of my seat, and I'm sure he was listening to my conversation as well.

"You okay Orihime?" I heard Tatsuki-chan's voice. I looked over at her lazily, putting on a small smile.

"Good morning Tatsuki-chan." I responded to her. She just frowned, folding her arms across her chest.

"That's not what I asked, you dork." She spoke, sounding a bit irritated. I gave her a big grin, although I hate to admit it wasn't real.

"I'm fine, to answer your question." I replied to her, feigning a happier mood. "I'm just a taaad sleepy." She rolled her eyes.

"Did you sleep okay last night?" I jumped at her question, feeling my face heat up and my heart drop. I could tell Kurosaki-kun had tensed up as well.

"Everyone seems to be asking me that question lately," I joked to her, but her eyes said that she wanted more info. "I'm not quite sure how I slept last night." I laughed, shrugging.

"How do you not know?" She asked me baffled. She looked very, very confused. I obviously knew what happened last night, but some of the stuff that happened I had no explanation for.

"I just don't. Maybe the little blue men made me forget or something." I told her, shrugging again.

Forget… Again, I feel like I'm forgetting something… No, I know I'm forgetting something. But what is it? I suddenly felt a sharp shooting pain race through my head. My eyes got big as I had a revelation.

I suddenly remembered a white room, with a certain, evil ex-captain standing in the center. A man that was supposed to be gone.

_Aizen… He's still here… _I swallowed, starting to think the worst.

_**I never left Orihime. **_I heard his deep, venomous voice ring in my head.

"Orihime, are you alright? You're looking awfully pale all of a sudden." Tatsuki-chan asked me, sounding very worried. Kurosaki-kun turned around to look at me. He was probably concerned too.

"I-I-I'm fine." I stuttered, still feeling his presence in my head.

_Why am I remembering this? Why am I remembering you? _I grabbed onto the sleeves of my sweater, feeling fear shoot through my body. _Why won't you go away?_

_**You're being a bad girl Orihime. You shouldn't be able to hear me. **_His snake-like voice went through my head. I felt a sharp shooting pain in my heart. I grabbed my sweater even tighter, in desperation.

"O-Orihime, what's going on?" Tatsuki-chan asked me again, but kept her voice down as to not get a rise out of the rest of the class. I looked up at her, still feeling immense amounts of pain.

"I-I'm fine… Just give me a second." I stuttered to her. Kurosaki-kun's hand reached out to try to comfort me, but I swatted it away. I immediately regretted doing it, right after it happened. I bit my lip in my own frustration.

"S-Sorry…" I mumbled to him, standing up hastily. "I-I need to go." I barely muttered out, and proceeded to leave the classroom. My body felt very heavy, so it was a struggle to walk. Ochi-sensei was at the door when I opened it.

"Inoue, class is about to start. Please go back to your seat." She spoke politely. I shook my head at her, feeling tears well up in my eyes.

"Sick…" I mumbled, lying to her. I passed her and walked down the hall and up the staircase to the roof.

_Why can't you leave me alone? _I felt tears falling down my face heavily. "Why?" I whispered fiercely to myself as I ran. I didn't get any answer from his 'voice' in my head.

As soon as I got to the top of the staircase, I burst the doors open and I felt a gust of freezing wind hit me. I didn't care; I just needed to be far away from anyone right now, especially from Kurosaki-kun. If he knew what was up, he'd definitely be angry, but even angrier with me for not telling him the truth. Plus if he found out that Aizen was still here, in my mind, then it was almost as if all his hard work to defeat him had gone to waste.

I took a few steps onto the roof until I collapsed onto the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Why… Why…" I muttered bitterly to myself. "Just leave me alone…" Most of the pain had subsided once I got outside, but that still didn't hide the fact that I was still upset. My body was shaking uncontrollably, probably from both the cold and all my crying.

"Orihime!" I thought I heard Kurosaki-kun's voice call out. I turned around to see if he was around or not. Even though tears clouded my eyes, I didn't see his bright orange hair at all.

I sighed heavily, still feeling my body shaking. After standing up slowly, I managed to walk over to the railing without collapsing on the ground again.

"Will you go away if I die?…" I mumbled to myself, wondering if Aizen's voice could hear me.

I actually had no intention of killing myself. I knew it would make so many people sad, and I was partially afraid of dying. But everything just hurt so much, and I was so tired. I just want everything to be over.

"Orihime!" I heard his voice again. I didn't bother turning around again. It was just like my dreams; The ones where I could hear Kurosaki-kun somewhere by me, but he wasn't really there.

I stared at the gray sky, feeling the piercing cold air hit my body. I felt so numb, and I wished I could feel like this forever. Just not feeling a single thing.

I sighed again, and I fell onto my back, closing my eyes. It felt so cold.

"Orihime." His voice rang out once more. Again, I didn't bother looking. I'm sure this was just like my dream, and he wouldn't be there. I doubt Kurosaki-kun would have run after me after I left.

"I'm not important…" I muttered to myself, feeling nothing now.

I felt a hot hand on my cheek as I lay there on the roof. As soon as I felt the touch, I remembered the hand. Callused from fighting, but still gentle and warm. A tear fell down my cold face, and it felt like it was on fire because of the temperature difference.

"Hime…" His voice spoke. "Open your eyes." I shook my head. He would, for one, disappear as soon as I did, I knew for sure. I also knew that if I opened up my eyes and Kurosaki-kun was still there, he'd demand to know what's wrong, and get angry with me. And that was the last thing I wanted.

"Please…" His voice sounded melodic in my hurting head. I opened up my eyes a bit, but it was still blurred from my frozen tears. I bit my lip again, from frustration and pain, both at Aizen and myself. I saw a familiar blur of orange.

"What?…" I mumbled quietly, rolling onto my side. I felt like being alone, mainly because I didn't want to hurt anyone, especially Kurosaki-kun.

"Hime, please tell me what's wrong." His voice pleaded. I shook my head, biting my lip even harder.

"I don't want you to get hurt." I responded back to him in the same tone. He sighed lightly, and rolled my body back onto my other side, so he could see my face.

"It's hurting me more to see you hurt right now." He spoke softly.

_Why isn't he angry?_ He ran his hand over my face, and I felt like I was slowly melting. "I… I love you, Orihime… And I want to be there for you." He finished. I looked up at him with cold tears at the corners of my eyes.

"I know…" I mumbled to him, almost inaudibly. "I love you too…" I spoke to him, feeling my cheeks heat up a bit, despite the cold surroundings. "B-But that's why I can't tell you." I told him, looking away. "It'll hurt too much, for both of us..."

"Tell me what?" He asked concerned. He pulled me up into a warm hug.

_I love Kurosaki-kun so much… But I have to let him go, so he won't be hurt._

"Tell you that Ai-" I was cut short as I suddenly met an all too familiar darkness.

**_

* * *

Ichigo's POV_**

"Tell you that Ai-" She started to explain, but stopped speaking. I pulled her away from my hug, and saw that her eyes were closed.

"Hime?" I shook her small body lightly, making sure I wouldn't hurt her. "Hime, wake up."

"She won't wake up." I heard a familiar, deep voice. I spun my head around to see who was speaking.

It was Urahara and Yoruichi-san.

"Why are you here?" I asked them, holding Inoue's body close to mine. Urahara just put up three fingers.

"One, I felt a huge spike up in your reiatsu. And two, I couldn't feel hers at all." My eyes went big at what he just told me.

"W-What do you mean you can't feel her reiatsu? She still has her Shun Shun Rikka, doesn't she?" He just tipped his hat over his eyes and pointed to the last finger he held up.

"Kyōka Suigetsu."

* * *

A/N: Find out what Kyōka Suigetsu is on your own. :3 You'll be pleasantly surprised? (Okay, maybe not pleasantly, but you'll probably be surprised.)

Sorry it's a weird chapter. _ This part went a lot faster than I intended. Oh well… That means the story will end sooner, lol.

As for a guess-estimate on how many chapters left, I would maybe, MAYBE guess 5 more? Maybe? I dunno, we'll see how well I write, haha.

Please tell me if you're confused, or something seems weird. Then I can apologize correctly for it, haha.

NOTE: I _probably_ won't be able to get the next chapter out tomorrow, at least not during the day, just because I didn't get a jump start on it today. I'll have tomorrow, but I can't guarantee that I'll have it out during daylight.

Thank you for reading! Please review, but no flames please. Thankies~


	18. Inoue's Inner Battle

A/N: *_* By FAR the most confusing chapter I've written out… _So much dialogue…_ I've had to re-read this over and over again, to be able to keep writing it correctly, lol. Please ask me questions if you have them.

Yay, +5,000 hits~ Thank you all.

Also, I _am_ working on your fanart of thanks~ I'm trying to get it done as quick as I can.

Enjoy.

**

* * *

Chapter 18**

**_Ichigo's POV_**

"I knew you were bad at sensing reiatsu, but I didn't think that you couldn't notice hers was gone _at all._" Urahara commented to me, waving his fan in front of his face. Yoruichi-san nodded in agreement, putting on her own scowl.

We were currently in his shop, discussing what was currently happening. Inoue was lying on a bed in the other room, and I was with Urahara and Yoruichi-san.

"And considering how close you've been to her lately, you think you would have noticed something was off." Yoruichi-san spouted at me, sounding quite irritated.

"You said it yourself! I'm bad at sensing reiatsu, so how the hell could I even tell that she didn't have hers anymore?" I yelled back at them, feeling frustrated.

"Are you observant then?" She asked me, her tone more calm now.

"What do you mean?" I asked confused. I was only getting lost in this conversation.

"Have you asked her about her Shun Shun Rikka at all?" Urahara asked, summing up Yoruichi-san's statement. I thought back to the last few days.

"Orihime got hurt the other day, and I asked her why she didn't use her Sōten Kisshun. She said she forgot, and promised she would, but she never did." I explained one of the situations to them. Urahara cracked up a smile.

"On a first name basis, are we?" He chuckled behind his fan. I slammed my fist on the table.

"Quit joking around! When are you going to tell me what's wrong with her?" I scoffed at them. "Because you obviously wouldn't bring me here if nothing was wrong." Yoruichi-san looked over to the side, sighing lightly.

"You are aware of Aizen's zanpakuto power, correct?" She asked me, finally being serious. I nodded.

"Vaguely… It has to do with hypnosis or something, right?" I scratched my head. I didn't completely know all about his power, but I do know he used it once on me before, during the final battle. She nodded to me.

"Yes, though it is very specific. His usual Shikai form only shows people's desires, while the special Shikai ability is complete hypnosis on the opposite person's 5 senses, almost making them a complete slave." She explained.

"How does that relate to Orihime?" I asked her rudely. At this point, she was making absolutely no sense and I felt like we were getting no where.

"Has Inoue-san showed any unusual behavior at all?" Urahara asked, cutting into the current 'zanpakuto' conversation. I took a moment to think, then nodded.

"Yeah… She tried to strangle me last night… I know when I saw her, she certainly didn't _look_ normal." I told them, pointing to my eyes as an example. "Her eyes looked glazed over. Otherwise, she's been as normal as she could possibly be, besides the fact that she's been as tired as hell the last 2 days." Urahara and Yoruichi-san suddenly looked at each other, their eyebrows raised. "What?" He turned to face me, folding up his fan.

"If what you say is true, then you are quite possibly a very lucky man." He spoke, with a small smile on his face. I scowled at him. He had no reason to be smiling now.

"How am I lucky? And what does that have to do with Aizen's zanpakuto?" I asked irritated. Again, I felt like we were getting no where. Yoruichi-san started to speak again.

"Let's say Inoue-san somehow came in contact with his Shikai sometime while she was in Hueco Mundo. And of course, when I say come in contact, I mean she had to experience it first hand. He would have had to use his special ability on her directly." She explained. "Now, I'm not completely knowledgeable in the realm of zanpakutos, but it could potentially be the case that, for Aizen, has the ability to work, even after his death. My guess would that he would have been able to use it once, but like I said. It's only a guess." I opened my mouth to speak, but she put her finger on my mouth. "And don't say it's impossible, because anything is possible."

"But why would he use it on Orihime? He could have used it on so many other people." I asked, still feeling bewildered.

"You can't honestly tell me that you didn't notice that she had feelings for you for quite a while." Yoruichi-san scoffed at me again. I felt my face heat up a bit. She noticed the change of color in my face. "Even so, after you defeated some of their toughest Espada, he probably took in the possibility that you could be one to defeat him. Even if he was evil, he was a smart man, and he thought out all his possible outcomes. Even an outcome where he could use Inoue-san's own love to get close to you, and ultimately result in some possible revenge of his."

"Are you saying he… It, could be using Orihime as some sort of tool for revenge?" I asked, baffled at the possibility. She nodded solemnly.

"Unfortunately, yes." Urahara spoke quietly.

_Damn, she wasn't kidding when she said he thought of every possible outcome. He __had__ used Orihime to get closer to me, but also making it hard for her to do anything, considering her feelings. It's made it difficult for me to act as well._

"Okay, but how does that tie in with Orihime being so tired?" I asked, trying to gain more answers.

"That's where you're a lucky man." Urahara spoke, waving his fan in front of his face again. "She could be that way for one of two reasons: First, it could be that Aizen, or rather his zanpakuto's power, is slowly sucking away her energy, and quite possibly her reiatsu as well, to use it in one last 'attack' so to speak. The second possibility could be that she's using up her energy to possibly be 'fighting' it back, trying to make sure it, or she, doesn't hurt anyone." He smirked. "We just need to hope for the latter. But unfortunately, it's probably a bit of both."

"And what if it's not?" I asked him, slightly wondering if I wanted a response to it. Yoruichi-san's eyes looked grim.

"Then we'd need to kill her."

My eyes went big.

Kill her? Inoue was innocent! There's no way they could just kill her like that, regardless of Aizen's power inside her.

"I know what you're thinking, and it's not possible to _not_ kill her if it gets to that point. You know how powerful her Shun Shun Rikka can be. If he's trying to save up her energy, it's possible that he could make her use her power to reject so much time to a point where Karakura Town doesn't even exist." Urahara looked at the door to the room Inoue was in as he spoke. "And it wouldn't take that much time, considering she has a captain's power inside her, along with her own. My guess would is that we'd have maybe 48 hours, at most."

_This is horrible… Inoue is fighting her own battle inside her mind, and I can't do a damn thing! And it's even possible everything would be eradicated to a point of no existence… Why can't Inoue just live a normal life now? _Yoruichi-san started to speak again, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"You also probably wondering what you can do to help her." I nodded fiercely to her.

"Anything…" I replied, feeling full of sorrow. If there were _anything_ I could do for Inoue, I'd want to do it.

"There's only one thing possible that I can think of, and I'm not even sure how completely possible it is." Yoruichi-san told me, looking over to Urahara, who just smiled.

"Of course I can do it. Who do you think you're talking to?" He spoke happily, waving the fan at her. "It won't be exactly easy though."

"Do what?…" I asked both of them. He looked at me mischievously.

"Go into Inoue-san's mind and find Aizen's zanpakuto power." My eyes went big. How was it even possible to go into her head?

"You'll need to be in your Soul Reaper form, since it's basically a soul. We can temporarily merge your two souls together, but not for long." Urahara continued explaining.

"Why not?" I asked, still slightly confused.

"Well you can't have two souls inhabit one body for an extended period of time, for one reason. Another reason, you have so much spiritual energy, if you didn't get out of her mind in, maybe…" He paused to think, looking at Yoruichi-san for confirmation. "4 hours?" Yoruichi-san nodded in agreement. "Bad things could happen." He finished.

"Bad things, such as…?" I asked, scowling at them.

"You could be lost in her mind forever, you could be fine and she wouldn't wake up, or you could even end up killing her." He waved his annoying fan once more. "Your reiatsu is just _that _much." I tried to put aside feelings of angry for these two, and focus on the situation at hand, which was trying to help Inoue. Even if Urahara was talking about me possibly killing the person I loved the most.

"And how would I find his power?" I asked, grinding my teeth together in frustration.

"Her weakness." Yoruichi-san told me, rolling her eyes. "It's pretty obvious what it is. If you don't know, then you're done for."

I honestly don't know what it is…

Yoruichi-san slapped her head at my silence, and Urahara sighed lightly.

"What is your drive for helping Inoue-san?" He asked, still flabbergasted at empty answer.

"I… I love her…" I told them, my face heating up. "I'd do anything for her." I put my head in my hands.

"Would you say she's your biggest weakness?" Urahara asked, grinning to himself.

"Of cours-" I stopped, realizing my answer. I formed my mouth into an 'O' shape.

_Inoue's weakness is her love for me… _I blushed at the thought.

"Well, unless you have any other questions, we'll start getting things set up. It might take an hour or so before it's ready." I nodded to him in understanding. "You might want to take this time to see her."

"Y-Yeah… Thanks…" I mumbled to them, watching them leave. I stood up hastily and went into the room Inoue was in. I sat down and stared at her sleeping form, hoping I would be able to do this for her.

"Orihime…"

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A/N: Short chapter, but there was a looooot of shit in here (Aka: explanations).

PLEASE ASK ME ABOUT ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE!

Thank you for reading, and please review~ No flames though.


	19. I'm Sorry for Lying

A/N: Sorry I got this out so late. Again, I was either sleeping or away from my computer. **fails**

****, I had a tough time writing this chapter… Maybe it's because I want this to be done, so I can branch out into new drabbles or something, lol. (I am kind of getting sick of this story, but I'm not just going to abandon it.) It's gone on too long. So therefore, I promise it'll be done soon. For good and bad.

Almost 20 chapters… How amazing… *_*

Enjoy the chapter!

**

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Chapter 19**

**_Ichigo's POV_**

I looked down at Inoue's face, feeling both pain and happiness inside my heart. It hurt me so much to not be able to talk to her, and not protect her properly. I felt my happiness because I had such an amazing person in front of me, and she didn't care about my flaws, and still loved me anyway.

"Orihime…" I spoke quietly to her sleeping form, holding her face in my hand. I felt like my heart was being ripped in half.

I couldn't protect her… I couldn't protect her from the Arrancar, from Aizen, or from any of her other fears… I'm so weak…

"Orihime, I'll definitely help you this time. I'll protect you for sure." I whispered to her, now picking up her fragile body, holding it close to mine. "I promise…"

"Ichigo…kun…" I heard her speak quietly. I looked at her, to find her eyes still closed. Her face looked quite flushed though, as if she was thinking about something embarrassing.

"Hime?" I asked her slowly, not wanting her to strain herself if she really was awake. She lifted up her arms and pulled herself closer to me. She didn't say a word though.

_I suppose she is probably still sleeping… _I held her closer.

"Orihime… I'm sorry…" I mumbled, almost inaudibly. "I'm so sorry…" I hugged as tight as I could, without fear of breaking her small body.

"It's… Okay." I heard her voice again. "Ichigo-kun…" Hearing her voice only made me feel more sad, and I didn't want to let her go.

"It's not okay…" I told her. Now that I had confirmation that she was barely awake, I wanted to get my feelings through to her. Though being the amazing woman she was, she probably already knew…

"I wasn't able to protect you from him… From anything…" I muttered to her, feeling even more sorrow.

"Ichigo…kun…" She spoke again. I felt her small, warm hand reach up to my face. I looked at her. She had her eyes barely open, and a small smile was set upon her face. "You did protect me…" She paused before continuing. My guess was that she was struggling for the energy to talk. "Otherwise… I wouldn't be here… To love you." Her lone statement made my heart drop to my toes. And all of a sudden, I felt something wet on my cheeks.

Something I hadn't felt since my mom died.

"Please… Don't cry…" She spoke softly, still smiling. "I won't be happy, if you cry…" I nodded to her, enveloping her lips in a sweet kiss.

"I'll get rid of him… Then we'll be together with no worries." I promised her, forcing a smile onto my face. She nodded, her eyes closing now.

"I believe you…" She responded quietly, nuzzling herself back into my chest. I hugged her even tighter. After that, I didn't hear anything else from her.

_I can't believe I just forced her to talk when she clearly didn't have the energy to._

For the remaining time until Urahara would come to tell me that the preparations were complete, I held Inoue's body to my own, feeling her heart beat almost in sync with mine. I just watched her actions, like how her breathing seemed ragged and short, when it was normally smooth and effortless.

The time seemed to fly by as I kept Inoue close. Urahara and Yoruichi-san had made their way into the room, and made themselves comfortable on the floor.

"Okay, so a few things to go over before you go in." Urahara started to speak, but stopped and shoved his cane at my forehead, causing my Soul Reaper form to pop out.

"Dammit, at least tell me when you're going to do that!" I scowled at him. He just shrugged and continued on.

"Walk, don't run. You'll be in her mind, so just go with the flow." He waved his fan as he spoke. "Though you'll want to stop when you see Kyōka Suigetsu. And trust me, you'll know it when you see it." He looked over to Yoruichi-san. "Am I missing anything?" She nodded, and his mouth formed into an 'O' shape. Yoruichi-san started to talk.

"The two most important things. First, don't touch anything but the Kyōka Suigetsu. If you touch anything, if could potentially result in later memory loss for her, and etc, etc.

"Secondly, remember that everything in her mind is either memories or thoughts. Most of it is probably memories, since Kyōka Suigetsu is using up her power, which even includes her energy to think." Her face looked grin. "So if you think you can protect her from something harmful that's happened, forget it, it's all in the past. It'll only hurt her more if you interfere." I nodded to them in understanding.

"Anything else?" I asked, feeling fully prepared for anything that could happen. Urahara shook his head.

"Nope. Just remember to be out in less than 3 hours, otherwise things could be bad. We'll send a small shock to her body every hour, letting you know how much time you have left." He smiled. "So to sum it all up, go into her mind, find the Kyōka Suigetsu, destroy it without hurting Inoue-san, and do it all within 3 hours. Then you have nothing to worry about. Now that doesn't sound so tough, does it?" I punched him in the face.

"Says the person who doesn't have to do it!" I spouted at them. Urahara shrugged again after recovering from my punch.

"You don't have to do it. We could just kill her instead." I felt my heart drop again.

"N-no, I'll do it…"

"I thought so." He spoke nonchalantly. "Now hold her hand, and close your eyes." I nodded to him, proceeding to do as I was instructed. I thought he was going to do something more, but I met something.

I met a blinding white light that quickly changed to a field of green grass. It looked so peaceful and calm.

"Is this really her mind?" I spoke to myself, hearing my voice echo. I scratched my head. "Okay… Walk… Gotta walk, not run." I told myself again. I turned around and started walking; hoping it would lead me to the thing I wished to seek.

-----

The first memory of hers I encountered really didn't look like one at all. It was a little auburn-haired girl, sitting on the ground, just staring off into the distance. I assumed it was Inoue, quite possibly at a younger age. I squatted down to her level, so I could see her eye to eye.

"Are you okay?" I asked her, making sure I wouldn't touch her. She looked up at me, and I suddenly noticed she had a black eye and her left cheek was intensely red. I jumped slightly at the sight.

"Are you here to make the bad things go away?" She asked innocently, despite how she was probably feeling.

"Um, yeah. I'm going to try to help. Could you tell me where the bad things are?" I tried asking her casually. I wasn't really good with kids, even if this was Inoue. She pointed to the direction I was previously walking to. I nodded to her, putting on a small smile.

"Thanks." I stood up to leave again, but something about her injuries on her face was bugging me, and I felt like I couldn't just ignore them. "I don't mean to be rude, but how did you get hurt?" I kneeled back down. "Is everything okay?" The girl's face suddenly seemed down and she looked very sad.

"Daddy doesn't like it when I do things wrong… And he thinks I do lots of stuff wrong." I felt a stab at my heart after hearing her statement.

_Inoue's dad did this to her? _The mere thought of a parent beating up on their child made me utterly disgusted, and I felt like I was going to be sick. Now I was wishing I could have been there for Inoue long ago, when she was this age. Maybe she wouldn't be so hurt now if I did…

"I-I'm sorry to hear that…" I mumbled to her, running a hand through my hair. She shook her head, and forced a small smile.

"No, thank you… I feel kinda better after saying something." I looked at her again, and her injuries seemed to be going away. I smiled at her again.

"Thanks again." I spoke to her. She waved me off and suddenly disappeared. Then it suddenly dawned on me that I could have potentially messed something up in Inoue's head, by talking to that little girl.

_But then again, Urahara said to just go with the flow._ I awkwardly shook it off and continued on. It wasn't long after that until I ran into another memory, only this time it was just a window with an image that played like a movie.

And I recalled this event perfectly.

It showed Inoue crying over her brother's death at our clinic. I didn't know her as well back then, so I figured it was like any other person's death. I shuddered at my previous thoughtless-ness.

_I can't believe I acted so coldly to her back then._

Suddenly, the surroundings shook violently, but it was only temporary. Everything turned back to normal quite quickly. Was this the shock that Urahara was talking about? There was no way it could have been an hour already!

"S-Shit…" I muttered to myself, speeding up my pace. Then I had to mentally remind myself to slow down. I can't be taking things _too_ quickly here.

As I walked further, I saw a more familiar Inoue, lying down on the grass. She suddenly sat up, exclaiming her usual nonsense.

"The little blue men stole my leeks!" She threw her hands into the air. I chuckled at her, remembering her more carefree side.

_If I'd protected her from Hueco Mundo, she'd probably be fine now. _I thought sourly to myself, continuing to walk.

"Oh, Kurosaki-kun! What are you doing here?" The same Inoue that had just yelled out about the blue men, had stopped me to ask me what I was doing. I couldn't honestly tell her I was in her mind, hunting down a bad guy. I scratched my head, taking a quick look at her. After a few moments of thinking, I realized she was wearing the same clothes the day I fought her brother when he was a hollow.

"Well… I lied to her, feeling a bit of guilt in my heart. "A little girl told me about some bad stuff, and I'm here to check it out." Her mouth started as an 'O' shape, but quickly formed into a smile.

"Oh, it must be Tuesday then, right?" She asked me enthusiastically. Why was she asking me what day it was?

"Why do you ask?" I reversed the questioning to her. She pouted, huffing slightly.

"Because you always show up on Tuesdays, to make sure I'm doing alright." She scrunched her eyebrows together. "Though this is the first since I've seen you in such a silly outfit. Are you into cosplay or something Kurosaki-kun?" I scowled at the thought that she even considered I was into cosplay.

And then there was the fact that I 'showed' up to make sure she was all right. Then again, when that car hit her that day, I did the same thing; I made sure she was okay.

"Uh, yeah. Cosplay… Sure, let's go with that." I lied to her again. She put on a goofy grin.

"Well I think it looks cool on you Kurosaki-kun!" She spoke happily, then looked at her watch. "Ah! It's almost dinnertime! Talk to you later Kurosaki-kun!" She waved to me, and ran off, disappearing as well. I sighed to myself, wondering when I would ever find the Kyōka Suigetsu and how many more Inoue's I'd run into. I continued walking.

As I walked, I saw yet another Inoue run by me, only this time, she didn't say a word to me. She was just running, and in the Soul Reaper uniform that she and Ishida 'borrowed' in Soul Society.

I started to notice that the grass appeared to be slowly dying the further I walked.

_I wonder why that is…_

_**I'm surprised her mind isn't more messed up. I was expecting worse shit…**_

_Why do you have to put your opinion in every time?_

_**It's gets as boring as hell in your head.**_

I put my hollow's rambling to the side as I got to a part in the field where all the grass looked completely burned, and the sky held some dangerous looking clouds. I continued walking, only to find that it was starting to rain. But oddly, it didn't feel like it was rain. I could feel its sorrow and pain.

Inoue's tears…

I saw yet another Inoue sitting on the dead grass. She was speaking to herself, but I suddenly got interested when I heard her say my name.

"You know, Kurosaki-kun… There was so much I wanted to do…" I heard her say. I walked in front of her, to see her directly, but it appeared as if she couldn't see me at all.

"I wanted to be a teacher, and an astronaut, and a baker. Then I'd go to the donut shop and ask, "Give me one of everything!" and then go to the ice cream man and ask the same thing!" She paused, and I continued to look at her quizzically.

This all seemed so familiar, but I couldn't remember how or why. She continued.

"Ahh, if only I had 5 lives! I could be born in 5 different towns, eat 5 lifetimes worth of food, 5 different jobs, and…" She paused again, and now looking up at me, her expression both sad and happy.

"Fall in love with the same person 5 times…" And the Inoue that was talking now had disappeared, just like the rest of them. I felt my face heat up at hearing this for what felt like a second time.

_**You dumbass, you had a nightmare about it.**_

_W-What are you talking about?_

_**You're telling me you don't remember a bit of it? You're pathetic. **_He scoffed at me. _**You had a 'nightmare' about her leaving, but apparently it was the real deal. **_He continued mumbling to himself, throwing in a few swear words in the mix.

Was he serious? I vaguely remembered having a dream about Inoue leaving, but I thought it was because I got beaten up so badly the day before, that my mind wanted to give me nightmares. I mentally beat myself up for not waking up, realizing that she really left.

_Again, another time where I couldn't protect her… _I thought bitterly to myself.

I tried to shake it off and continued walking. It only rained harder, and everything seemed so much duller now, but I felt like I was getting close to the Kyōka Suigetsu.

The surroundings of the environment shook violently again, letting me know that it was most likely the 2nd hour had passed.

_How the hell did 2 hours already pass?_

Either way, I needed to get the job done as soon as possible.

Suddenly, a bright light shone and momentarily blinded me, preventing me from moving any further for the time being. When I was able to open up my eyes again, I wasn't in the field any more, but I was in a plain white room, with Inoue leaning against one of the walls. She just looked off to the side, having that dazed look again.

There was a throbbing white light in the middle, with a disgusting red and black blob attached to its side.

_Kyōka Suigetsu…_ I had founded what I was looking for; I just needed a way to get rid of it without damaging the rest. I didn't have that much time.

"Orihime!" I yelled out to her. She looked up casually; her eyes still glazed over. "Orihime, how do you get rid of this thing?" She didn't respond.

"_**There's no way to get rid of it.**_" I heard Aizen's voice. As I snapped my head around the room, I noticed he actually wasn't there. It was probably just his voice from the Kyōka Suigetsu.

"Hime, please, we don't have much time!" I begged her, as maybe she might have the answer on how to destroy it. Her eyes appeared to look a bit less cloudy, and she looked at me with a confused expression.

_Her weakness is her love for me… _I remembered back to my discussion with Urahara earlier. _Then how can I get that ugly thing to let go of it? _I kept thinking, trying to come up with a solution.

The first thing I thought of was my worst idea. But it seemed like the only way to get rid of it.

_No… I don't want to say it, even if I'm lying… Because then I'd break her heart… I'd break her heart and soul. _I thought harshly to myself, cursing my bad idea.

"I believe you…" I heard Inoue's voice. I looked over to her, the Inoue leaning against the wall. She had a weak smile on her face, and her eyes looked like they were back to normal. She mouthed three small words to me that caused my heart to jump, in both a good and bad way.

'I love you.'

I nodded bitterly to myself, telling myself that I had to do this.

"I don't…" I mumbled out into the open.

"_**You don't what?" **_ I heard the voice boom back. I looked at Inoue fiercely, feeling my heart rip into shreds.

"I don't love Orihime…" Her eyes went big, and I heard a loud crack come from the white light in the middle. I looked over to the center of the room, and I saw it break.

I saw her love for me shatter into a million pieces.

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A/N: Wtfffffff, what's with this chapter?? This is terrible, I know. I just want it to be dooooone, lol.

Thank you for reading, and please review. No flamies though.

NOTICE: THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE THE LAST CHAPTER.


	20. I Love You

A/N: Well folks, this is the final chapter. I hope you've liked it so far. Thank you so much for hanging around so long, lol.

Enjoy the final chapter!

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**Chapter 20**

**_Orihime's POV_**

"I don't love Orihime." He spoke sullenly. I felt my heart shatter, and the odd white sensation in the middle of the room cracked into a million pieces.

"He… He doesn't…" I whispered to myself, feeling hot tears run down my face. Everything seemed so fuzzy and vague right now, but I knew what was happening. "Please… Let this all be a dream…" I mumbled to myself, feeling heartbroken.

Kurosaki-kun took out his zanpakuto, with a scowl on his face.

"Now I'm going to finish this…" He muttered. I jumped at his statement.

_Finish what? He just said he didn't love me, is he going to kill me now too? _I shuddered at the thought. He wouldn't… But then again, nothing's impossible…

"I have to believe in him…" I spoke quietly to myself. "I have to…" I pulled my body close, despite my shaking from my crying.

Kurosaki-kun lifted his zanpakuto high into the air, and swung down fast. I closed my eyes tight, ready to feel pain.

Only it didn't come. I actually felt a lot lighter. Like I had been chained down before, and now the chain was gone. I lifted up my head and opened my eyes to look at Kurosaki-kun. He gripped his zanpakuto in his hand, and looked at me with soft eyes. He took a step closer to me. I moved back, further away from him.

_Why am I so afraid?_

He frowned and dropped the heavy blade onto the floor. He extended his hand out to me.

"I'm sorry Orihime…" His eyes seemed to be full of guilt and pain. "I couldn't think of any other way to get rid of it."

_What was he getting rid of again? _I looked up at him with a confused expression.

"I still love you Orihime…" He spoke softly, putting on a weak smile. "For five lifetimes, I will always love you." He extended his hand out further. My eyes went big as I remembered my confession to him, before I left for Hueco Mundo.

I slowly reached out my hand to his.

_I… Never want to let go of this hand… _I thought to myself, feeling my cheeks heat up. I took his hand and there was a sudden white light, engulfing me completely.

-----

"No Ichigo-kun, not there!" I yelled out into the open, throwing my hands up in the air. "Huh?" I looked around confused. Was I just sleeping? I felt my face heat up.

_W-What was I just dreaming about? _I looked around to try and figure out where I was. I still feeling very sleepy, so I had trouble trying to determine my location, even though it felt familiar.

"W-We're back at my house." I heard a familiar voice speak out. I turned my head to find Kurosaki-kun sitting in a chair next to the bed I was in. His face appeared to be quite red as well. "What the hell were you dreaming about?" He asked, obviously embarrassed. I felt my face get even hotter. I flailed my arms wildly in front of him.

"I-I-I'm not at liberty to say?" I could remember my dream clearly, and it was way to embarrassing to repeat. "U-Um, I-I-I-It's way too embarrassing." I tried to make up another excuse. He seemed to only believe me a little bit.

"I'm not even going to ask… I think I have a good idea anyway." He mumbled, looking off to the side. I did the same, and I fell back into the bed. It felt comfortable and it smelled like Kurosaki-kun. I buried my face into the pillow, inhaling his scent.

"A-Am I in your room?" I asked quietly, speaking through the pillow.

"Yeah… Um, do you remember anything out of the ordinary?" He spoke, and I could tell he was trying to make it sound casual.

"N-Not off hand… Why?" I muttered into the cushion again. I didn't want to move my body or face at all. Just being here made me feel safe and… loved.

"No reason…" His voice sounded strained.

_Liar._

"What's the last thing you remember?" He asked me another question. I lifted my head up from the pillow and took in a deep breath, starting to think back.

"Hmmm… I remember going to school… And talking to Tatsuki-chan about being tired." I told him, trying to see if there was anything more recent. "Ah!! School!!" I exclaimed, jumping out of the bed, only to have my foot caught on the sheet and I tripped and fell on my face.

Falling never seemed so suspiciously breezy.

I wasn't wearing any bottoms, except for my p-p-p…

"Ahhh! W-W-W-Why aren't I wearing…!?!" I pulled my shirt down, feeling immensely embarrassed. My face was really hot, and I didn't want to look at Kurosaki-kun now. "I-I have to get to school, but I can't if I'm not wearing…" I felt tears tug at the corner of my eyes. This was a bad way to wake up.

"O-Oi, don't cry…" Kurosaki-kun mumbled to me. "Y-You being gone one more day isn't going to hurt…" Out of the corner of my eye, I could tell he was glancing away, and his face was red as well.

"I-I've been gone more than one day? What have I been doing?" I asked feeling embarrassed, still sitting on the cold floor.

"Sleeping." He muttered back.

Then it hit me like a ton of bricks, and my heart felt heavy.

"O-Oh… Right." I stuttered out. I was slowly starting to remember Kurosaki-kun helping me, and saying that he didn't love me anymore.

I thought that was just a dream… I glanced down at myself, and noticed I wasn't wearing any of my clothing. I was wearing a large T-shirt, and upon further inspection, it seemed to be his T-shirt. Kurosaki-kun's shirt. "W-W-W-Why am I wearing y-your s-s-shirt?" I stuttered heavily, feeling like my heart was going to jump out of my chest. I looked up to him, letting my eyes be slightly hidden by my hair. His face only seemed to get redder.

"A-Ah, well, you see… Yuzu and Karin both refused to get something for you out of your suitcase, and I didn't think it would be appropriate of me or my dad to do it…" He mumbled his response to me.

_But how did I get changed then? Please, God please let it be Tatsuki-chan or some other friend that did it. It would only be more embarrassing if Kurosaki-kun did it. Because then that means he saw my b-body…_

"Ehhhh!!" I squeaked out, feeling insanely embarrassed now. I just wanted to crawl into a hole and hide there until I felt better.

"W-What?" He asked worriedly, looking at me with concern in his eyes. I pulled at the shirt I had on.

"I-I… W-Who… T-This?" I stuttered madly, not even able to form a sentence. His eyes went big and his face was completely red now.

"T-That was me… Sorry…" He mumbled. I put my head on the floor, feeling tears fall down my face once more.

At least it's not because I'm sad… I'm just so embarrassed! I sobbed, now feeling like running away from everything. Yes, I loved Kurosaki-kun, but him seeing me like that was just embarrassing! My heart wasn't ready for that!

"H-Hey, what's wrong?" He asked, sounding worried again. I looked up at him with tears clouding my vision.

"Y-Y-You saw…" I couldn't finish my sentence. He sighed heavily.

"Again, I'm sorry… No one else would, and Tatsuki ended up being out of town, so I couldn't exactly ask her." He spoke softly. He looked at me seriously now. I still felt embarrassed, so it was definitely impossible for me to be serious right now.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, getting up from his chair and moved to sit on the bed. He crossed his arms across his lean body.

"Still tired… But I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders, or something…" I told him honestly, biting my lip as I spoke. Kurosaki-kun suddenly scowled and grabbed my chin, making my face resemble a fish's.

"Quit biting your lips. You're gonna make them bleed." He muttered, sounding irritated.

"W-Why does it matter to you?" I questioned him. "I do it all the time!" I spoke my mind, with my face still looking silly. His expression suddenly got sad.

"I don't want to see your blood being shed…" He grumbled to me, letting go of my face. I nodded to him, feeling my face heat up. "I'm glad you're feeling better though… Really glad." I bit my lip lightly again, feeling embarrassed from his kind words. I wasn't going to stop biting my lip, only because it was a bad habit. I just had to make sure it wouldn't bleed.

"Why don't you sit on the bed here? It's probably as cold as hell on the floor." He asked, breaking me out of my thoughts. I waved my hands frantically at him, my face as red as a strawberry, I'm sure.

"I-It's fine. I-I have my reasons…" I stuttered back to him. My main reason was because I was pant-less. I blushed hard at my inner reasoning. He scoffed at me and picked up my body, putting me in his lap once more, just like the other day at school.

_E-Even more embarrassing!! How can he not be embarrassed as well?!_

He hugged my body from behind. I felt hot breath travel down my neck.

"I'm really glad you're okay…" He mumbled into the shirt. "Now we can be together without any worries…" I felt my heart jump at his last statement. I touched his arms lightly, the ones currently encasing my body.

"I-Ichigo…" I muttered his name lightly.

"Hm?" He responded, his face now in my hair.

"I-I… Love you." He responded with a chuckle.

"Yeah, Hime… I love you too."

* * *

A/N: It's done! Thank you for all your reviews, hits, and most importantly, love. Please pat yourself on the back. You deserve it.

Thanks for reading!


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